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Ben Chung — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:37 GMT

Current revision posted to Wiki by Ben Chung on 7/22/2009 3:00:37 PM

play around
{{further|[[List of oncology-related terms]]}} The following closely related terms may be used to designate abnormal growths: * '''[[Tumor]] or tumour:''' originally, it meant any abnormal swelling, lump or mass. In current English, however, the word tumor has become synonymous with wiki syntax hereneoplasm, specifically solid neoplasm. Note that some neoplasms, such as [[leukemia]], do not form tumors. * '''[[Neoplasia|Neoplasm]]:''' the scientific term to describe an abnormal proliferation of genetically altered cells. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant: '''Malignant neoplasm''' or '''malignant tumor''': synonymous with '''cancer'''. '''Benign neoplasm''' or '''[[benign tumor]]''': a tumor (solid neoplasm) that stops growing by itself, does not invade other tissues and does not form metastases. * '''Invasive''' tumor is another synonym of '''cancer'''. The name refers to invasion of surrounding tissues. * '''Pre-malignancy''', '''pre-cancer''' or '''non-invasive''' tumor: A neoplasm that is not invasive but has the potential to progress to cancer (become invasive) if left untreated. These lesions are, in order of increasing potential for cancer, [[atypia]], [[dysplasia]] and [[carcinoma in situ]]. The following terms can be used to describe a cancer: * '''Screening''': a test done on healthy people to detect tumors before they become apparent. A [[mammogram]] is a screening test. * '''Diagnosis''': the confirmation of the cancerous nature of a lump. This usually requires a [[biopsy]] or removal of the tumor by [[surgery]], followed by examination by a [[surgical pathology|pathologist]]. * '''Surgical excision''': the removal of a tumor by a [[surgery|surgeon]]. ** '''Surgical margins''': the evaluation by a [[surgical pathology|pathologist]] of the edges of the tissue removed by the surgeon to determine if the tumor was removed completely ("negative margins") or if tumor was left behind ("positive margins"). * '''Grade''': a number (usually on a scale of 3) established by a [[surgical pathology|pathologist]] to describe the degree of resemblance of the tumor to the surrounding benign tissue. * '''Stage''': a number (usually on a scale of 4) established by the [[oncology|oncologist]] to describe the degree of invasion of the body by the tumor. * '''Recurrence''': new tumors that appear at the site of the original tumor after surgery. * '''Metastasis''': new tumors that appear far from the original tumor. * '''Transformation:''' the concept that a low-grade tumor transforms to a high-grade tumor over time. Example: [[Richter's transformation]]. * '''Chemotherapy''': treatment with drugs. * '''Radiation therapy''': treatment with radiations. * '''Adjuvant''' therapy: treatment, either chemotherapy or radiation therapy, given after surgery to kill the remaining cancer cells. * '''Prognosis''': the probability of cure after the therapy. It is usually expressed as a probability of [[cancer survivor|survival]] five years after diagnosis. Alternatively, it can be expressed as the number of years when 50% of the patients are still alive. Both numbers are derived from statistics accumulated with hundreds of similar patients to give a [[Kaplan-Meier estimator|Kaplan-Meier curve]].

Ben Chung — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:17:54 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Wiki by Ben Chung on 7/22/2009 2:17:54 PM

Ben Chung — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:17:08 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Wiki by Ben Chung on 7/22/2009 2:17:08 PM

=play around with wiki syntax here=