Appendix 6: Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - This Battle Which I Must Fight: Cancer in Canada's Children and Teenagers

APPENDIX 6

GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Allogeneic - from the body of another human

Antibiotics - drugs used to treat infections

Anti-emetics - drugs used to lessen or prevent nausea and vomiting

Autologous - from the patient's own body

Benign - a tumour that does not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body

Biopsy - surgical removal of tissue for a diagnosis under the microscope

Blood counts - measurement of red cell count, hemoglobin, white cell count and its subgroups, and platelets

Bone marrow - the soft tissue inside bones where red and white blood cells and platelets are made

Bone marrow aspiration - removal of bone marrow through a needle inserted into bone

Cancer - malignant tumour

Central line - sterile tubing placed in the body to provide access to the bloodstream

Central nervous system (CNS) - brain and spinal cord

Cerebrospinal fluid - the fluid bathing the brain and spinal cord

Chemotherapy - drugs used to treat cancer by killing cancer cells or preventing them from dividing

Chromosome - microscopically observable strands of protein and nucleic acid in the nucleus of a cell. Chromosomes carry genes arranged in a linear order

Computed (axial) tomography scan (CT or CAT scan) - computerized cross-sectional X ray images

Congenital - present in the child at birth

Connective tissue - tissue which binds together and is the basic substance of the parts of the body

Downs syndrome - a syndrome of mental retardation with various other congenital abnormalities associated with an extra chromosome 21 in some or all cells

Embryonic - referring to the condition of an embryo, undeveloped

Epidemiology - the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in populations

Epithelial - referring to the cellular layer covering all inner and outer body surfaces including the glands

Etiology - cause(s)

Ewings sarcoma - a malignant bone or soft tissue tumour, different from osteosarcoma

Familial - affecting several individuals in the same family

Gene - a unit of DNA which carries hereditary information. Genes are located in fixed positions on chromosomes

Genetic - hereditary characteristics and information on cell growth, division and function

Germ cells - eggs/ova and sperm

Granulocytes - white blood cells that fight infections

Hepatic - referring to the liver

Heredity - transmission of traits from parents to offspring

Hodgkins disease/lymphoma - a type of lymphoma

Incidence (cancer) - new primary cancers of a given type diagnosed and registered during one year; counts refer to numbers of new cases and rates are expressed per 100,000 population; rates may be age-adjusted to the World Standard Population

Indwelling venous catheter - a tube left inserted into the bloodstream for repeated access

Intrathecal chemotherapy - cancer drugs injected into the fluid bathing the brain and spinal cord via a lumbar puncture or spinal tap

Intravenous - injected into the bloodstream

Ionizing radiation - high energy radiation which causes the formation of ions in substances through which it passes. These ions may damage tissue

Leukemia - a malignant disease of uncontrollable growth of unusually immature blood cells, generally starting in the bone marrow

Lumbar puncture - placement of a needle into the area around the spinal cord below the waist

Lymph nodes - small, bean-sized organs throughout the body which protect against infection. They enlarge in response to disease

Lymphoid - pertaining to or resembling lymph or lymphatic tissue

Lymphoblasts - primitive (young) lymphocytes, usually malignant

Lymphocytes - white blood cells that produce antibodies and destroy invading organisms or cancer cells

Lymphoma - malignancy of lymphatic tissue usually arising in the lymph nodes but also in other tissue

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - a method of providing body images using a magnetic field and radio waves

Malignant - a tumour that can invade surrounding tissues and/or spread to other parts of the body

Meninges - the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord

Metastases - cancer which has spread from one part of the body to another through the bloodstream or lymph system. The process is called metastasis

Mortality (cancer) - deaths from cancer during one year based on the underlying cause of death as stated by the certifying physician on the death registration; counts refer to numbers of deaths and rates are expressed per 100,000 population; rates may be age-adjusted to the World Standard Population

Mutation - the process by which a gene undergoes a permanent, heritable, structural change

Neuroblastoma - a malignant tumour that arises in nerve cells of the sympathetic nervous system

Neuronal - referring to neurons, the functioning cells of the nervous system

Oncologist - physician who treats patients with cancer

Oncology - the study of cancer

Osteosarcoma - a malignant tumour that begins in the bone

Palliative - refers to treatment not intended to cure cancer but to improve well-being and manage the end stage of the disease

Platelets - blood cells that contribute to blood clotting

Prognosis - the likely outcome of disease

Prophylaxis - prevention or protection against disease

Prosthesis - artificial device used to replace a missing part of the body

Protocol - a detailed set of instructions about how a treatment is to be administered

Puberty - sexual maturity

Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) - high energy beams used to kill cancer cells

Refractory - unresponsive to treatment

Remission - partial or complete disappearance of cancer

Retinoblastoma - malignant tumour which occurs in the retina, the membrane at the back of the eye

Rhabdomyosarcoma - a malignant tumour derived from skeletal muscle

Sarcoma - malignant tumour arising in muscles, nerve sheaths, fat, blood vessels or connective tissue

Sibling - brother or sister

Soft tissue - inner body tissues other than bone and specific organs; e.g. muscle, connective tissue, blood vessels

Spinal tap - see lumbar puncture

Staging - classification of spread of disease

Stem cells - primitive bone marrow cells that develop into blood cells

Sympathetic nervous system - a system of nerves controlling blood pressure, heart rate and other internal bodily functions

Syndrome - symptoms and findings constituting a particular disease

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) - nutrition provided by intravenous route

Tumour - a lump or swelling; can be malignant or benign

Ultrasound - examination of the body by sonic waves

Wilms tumour - a malignant tumour that arises within the kidney during embryonic life

 

[Previous] [Table of Contents] [Next]