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The process by which tumour cells detach from the primary tumour, enter the blood, lymphatic system or body cavity and travel to a distant body site where they form metastases – also called secondary tumours.
GLOSSARY
A-Z
Adenoma
A benign tumour of a glandular structure or of glandular origin. Adenomas can become malignant and are then known as adenocarcinomas....
Adjuvant therapy
Treatment given in addition to primary treatment e.g. chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy or biological...
Angiogenesis inhibitors
A group of drugs that prevent the growth of new blood vessels that supply malignant tumours....
Antagonist
A drug or chemical which blocks the ability of a naturally occurring body chemical (hormone or neurotransmitter) or another...
Apoptosis
A natural process of self-destruction in certain cells, also called programmed cell death....
ASCO
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a non-profit organisation with the overarching goals of improving cancer care...
Benign
A tumour that is considered non-malignant and will not spread (metastasise) to other areas of the body. It is not considered...
Best Supportive Care (BSC)
The multi professional attention to the individual's overall physical, psychosocial, spiritual and cultural needs to improve...
BIBF 1120
Boehringer Ingelheim's next generation, triple angiokinase inhibitor currently under development, whichacts on three growth ...
Biopsy
The process whereby a small tissue sample is taken with a syringe (aspiration) or by surgical excision for examination...
Brachytherapy
Radiotherapy involving a small radioactive source implanted close to the tumour. Usually used in tongue, cervical, anal or prostate cancers....
BRCA1 and BRCA2
Genes that if inherited are associated with the development of breast cancer and possibly ovarian cancer....
Bronchogenic carcinoma
Cancer of the bronchi - the branching airways that connect the trachea or windpipe to the lungs. It is associated ...
Bronchoscopy
Technique which uses a small fibre-optical device (bronchoscope) to view inside the bronchi. Used diagnostically in...
Cell cycle
The cycle of events that a cell undergoes during cell division (mitosis). When a cell divides it produces two identical copies ...
Cell cycle kinase inhibitors
A group of molecules that target specific kinases (enzymes) and play an important role in the prevention of...
Chemotherapy
The treatment of cancer using specific chemical agents or drugs that are destructive to malignant cells and tissues; some...
Computerised tomography
A process of using X-rays to produce three-dimensional pictures of soft tissue, especially the brain. It is used diagnostically...
Cytology
The study of the structure and function of cells. Specimens are "sent for cytology" i.e. a report on the types of cells...
ECOG
The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status are scales and criteria used by doctors and researchers...
EGF
A naturally occurring factor that stimulates epidermal cells to grow and divide. It is most important in foetal...
EGFR
Epidermal growth factor receptors exist on the cell surface and are activated by binding of its specific...
Epidermis
The outer layer of cells in the skin and the covering membrane of solid organs. Most solid tumours are epidermal in origin....
ERbB
There are four receptors in the ErbB (or HER)family of tyrosine kinase receptors family, ErbB1, 2, 3, and 4 also known as:...
FGF
A growth factor (protein) that is involved in angiogenesis, It acts on fibroblasts-cells in connective tissue that are responsible...
FGFR
Part of a family of receptor tyrosine kinases that bind to members of the fibroblast growth factor family...
FNAC
The use of a fine needle to draw a sample of fluid/cells (aspiration) from a tumour so that the cells...
Growth factors
Small proteins produced by the body that enable cells to communicate and effectively coordinate activities between each other....
HER
One of a family of receptors that are acted upon by growth factors, mainly epidermal growth factor...
Incidence
The number of times an event or disease occurs in the population over a given time. For example, a particular cancer may...
Kinase
An enzyme that acts to add a phosphate group to a protein. This usually causes the protein to become active, although in...
Kinetochore
The central part of a chromosome that attaches to a spindle during the process of cell division....
Large cell carcinoma
One of a group of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) that usually starts in the bronchi and is associated with smoking....
Leukaemia
A group of malignant diseases in which the bone marrow and other blood forming organs produce increased numbers of a type of ...
Lymph
Fluid present within the vessels of the lymphatic system derived from the blood, which then bathes the tissues and is drained...
Lymph nodes
Nodes or swellings in the lymphatic vessels, comprising of lymphoid tissue, that filter lymph and produce lymphocytes....
Lymphocyte
A type of white blood cell present in blood, lymph nodes, the spleen, thymus gland, gut wall and bone marrow....
Malignant
The term used to describe tumours that have the ability to invade and destroy surrounding tissues and the capacity to...
Mammogram
X-ray of the breast used to detect and diagnose breast disease including breast cancer....
Metastasis
The term is used both for the process by which a cancer spreads from the place at which it first arose as a primary tumour...
Metastasise
The process by which tumour cells detach from the primary tumour, enter the blood, lymphatic system or body cavity and...
Mitosis
The process of cell division whereby the full complement of chromosomes is replicated and each identical "daughter" cell has the...
Mitotic spindle
A protein (tubulin) structure that attaches to the chromosomes during mitosis (cell division) and, by contraction...
Monoclonal antibody
An antibody produced in the laboratory from cloned cells. A lymphocyte (antibody producing cell) is fused with a rapidly dividing...
Neo adjuvant therapy
Chemotherapy given before surgery or radiotherapy to reduce the size of the tumour with the intention of improving the efficacy...
NSCLC
One of the two main types of lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)....
Oncogene
A gene that when mutated or expressed at abnormally high levels contributes to converting a normal cell into a cancer cell....
Oncogene mutation
A change or mutation in an oncogene. Such mutations contribute to the formation of a tumour....
Overall survival
The length of time a patient has survived from either the point of diagnosis or first treatment....
PDGF
A growth factor produced by platelets that acts on pericytes and smooth muscles cells and is involved in...
PDGF tyrosine kinase
Part of the receptor for PDGF (see kinase). Signalling via the PDGF receptor is important in growth of new...
Pericytes
Perivascular cells or pericytes are vascular smooth muscle cells or mural cells which cover the surface of the vascular tube...
pFGFR
A plasmid construct of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR). Plasmids are fragments of DNA found in bacteria...
PLK1
Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is an enzyme (see kinase) that is important in the regulation of the cell cycle. It is involved in the formation...
Positron emission tomography
A technique used to evaluate tissue metabolic activity by measuring the emission of radioactive...
Prevalence
How widely spread or how many people are affected by a disease in the community at any one time. The prevalence is affected...
Progression free survival
The amount of time from the start of treatment until tumour growth (progression) or death....
Radiotherapy
The treatment of disease (usually cancer) with penetrating radiation, such as X-rays, beta rays or gamma rays....
Receptor
The specialised part of a cell which recognises, binds to and is activated by a biological or synthetic messenger (called a ligand)....
Regression
When a tumour shrinks it is said to regress. For many cancers regression is only partial and not complete. ...
Remission
A term used to describe a disease being significantly reduced (partial remission) or eliminated completely (complete remission)....
Resistance
Where tumour cells initially respond to a treatment but after time become resistant to the treatment so that it is no longer effective. ...
Response rate
The percentage of patients whose cancer shrinks (termed a partial response) or disappears after treatment (termed...
Signal transduction
The mechanism whereby a signal is sent from the cell surface to the nucleus. Many of the messages sent throughout...
Signal transduction inhibitors
A group of drugs that prevent the ability of cancer cells to multiply rapidly and invade other tissues by blocking the signals sent...
Squamous cell carcinoma
A type of cancer arising from flat cells of the epithelium; it can affect the skin, lungs, cervix, prostate and oesophagus. ...
Staging
Classification system for tumours. For solid tumours it is a consideration of its size and the presence or absence of metastases....
Targeted therapy
Therapies that have been designed to act on a particular aspect of cellular functioning that is responsible for making that cell malignant....
Thoracocentesis
The insertion of a fine needle through the chest wall into the pleural cavity (the space around the lungs)...
Tyrosine kinase
An enzyme that adds a phosphate residue to a tyrosine, which results in a change in function of the tyrosine protein....
VEGF
A family of growth factors, consisting of VEGF A to VEGF E, that bind to endothelial cells and stimulate...
Source for healthcare professionals: www.inoncology.com
* Nintedanib (BIBF 1120), afatinib (BIBW 2992) and volasertib (BI 6727) are investigational compounds. Their safety and efficacy have not yet been fully established.
