Lung Cancer Glossary

Adjuvant Therapy: Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, or biological therapy.

Alopecia: Hair loss. This often occurs as a result of chemotherapy or from radiation therapy to the head. In most cases, the hair grows back after treatment ends.

Alveoli: Tiny air sacs found at the end of the smallest branches of the bronchial tree; oxygen passes into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide passes into the lungs to be exhaled through the alveoli

Analgesics: Drugs that reduce pain. These drugs include aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.

Anaplastic: A term used to describe cancer cells that divide rapidly and bear little or no resemblance to normal cells.

Anemia: A condition in which the number of red blood cells is below normal.

Angiogenesis: Blood vessel formation. Tumor angiogenesis is the growth of blood vessels from surrounding tissue into a solid tumor. This is caused by the release of a chemical by the tumor cells.

Benign: Not cancer; not malignant.

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue to see whether cancer cells are present. There are several kinds of biopsies. In some, a very thin needle is used to draw fluid and cells from a lump. In a core biopsy, a larger needle is used to remove more tissue.

Bone scan: An imaging method that gives important information about the bones, including the location of cancer that may have spread to the bones. It can be done on an outpatient basis and is painless, except for the needle stick when a low-dose radioactive substance is injected into a vein. Pictures are taken to see where the radioactivity collects, pointing to an abnormality.

Brachytherapy: Internal radiation treatment given by placing radioactive material directly into the tumor or close to it.

Bronchi: Airways in which air enters from the trachea and passes in the bronchioles; there are two bronchi, one for each lung. Bronchi is the plural for bronchus.

Bronchioles: Smaller airways in which air enters from the bronchi and passes in the alveoli

Bronchoalveolar carcinoma: A type of non-small cell lung cancer that arises from the cells of the bronchioles and alveoli.

Cancer care team: The group of health care professionals who work together to find, treat, and care for people with cancer. The cancer care team may include any or all of the following and others: primary care physician, pathologist, oncology specialists (medical oncologist, radiation oncologist), surgeons (including surgical specialists such as urologists, gynecologists, neurosurgeons, etc.), nurses, oncology nurse specialists, oncology social workers. Whether the team is linked formally or informally, there is usually one person who takes the job of coordinating the team.

Carcinogen: an agent the can cause cancer

Carcinoma: A malignant tumor that begins in the lining layer (epithelial cells) of organs. At least 80% of all cancers are carcinomas.

Chemosensitizer: A drug that makes it easier for chemotherapy to kill cancer cells.

Chemotherapy: Treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often used with surgery or radiation to treat cancer when the cancer has spread, when it has come back (recurred), or when there is a strong chance that it could recur.

Colony stimulating factors (CSF): Types of growth factors that promote growth and division of blood-producing cells in the bone marrow. CSFs are naturally produced in the body. But extra amounts may be given as a treatment to reduce or prevent certain side effects of chemotherapy due to not having enough blood cells.

Combined modality therapy: Two or more types of treatment used alternately or together to get the best results. For example, surgery for cancer is often followed by chemotherapy to destroy any cancer cells that may have spread from the original site

Contralateral: Relating to the other side; on the opposite side

Cryoablation: Use of extreme cold to freeze and destroy cancer cells.

Cytokine: A product of cells of the immune system that may stimulate immunity and cause the regression of some cancers.

Cytology: The branch of science that deals with the structure and function of cells. Also refers to tests to diagnose cancer and other diseases by examination of cells under the microscope

Cytotoxic: Toxic to cells; cell-killing.

Differentiation: The normal process through which cells mature so they can carry out the jobs they were meant to do. Cancer cells are less differentiated than normal cells. Grading is done to evaluate and report the degree of a cancer's differentiation.

Dosimetrist: A person who plans and calculates the proper radiation dose for cancer treatment

Dysphagia: Having trouble swallowing or eating

Dyspnea: shortness of breath

Embolization: A type of treatment that reduces the blood supply to the cancer by the injection of materials to plug up the artery that supplies blood to the tumor.

Emesis: Vomiting

External-beam radiation [also called external radiation]: This is a type of radiation therapy. It uses a machine to create and aim high-energy radiation at the cancer or the area where the cancer used to be.

Fibrosis: formation of scar-like (fibrous) tissue. This can occur anywhere in the body

Fine needle aspiration: In this procedure, a thin needle is used to draw up (aspirate) samples for examination under a microscope. Also called FNA. See also, biopsy

Fluorodeoxyglucose: A type of sugar that is used for a positron emission tomography (PET) scan

Fractionation: Dividing the total dose of radiation therapy into smaller, equal doses. The smaller doses are usually given over a period of weeks.

Grade: The grade of a tumor depends on: how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope, and how fast the cancer cells are growing. The pathology report may describe two different kinds of grade: nuclear grade and histologic grade. Nuclear grade describes the nucleus (headquarters of the cell that contains the DNA). Histologic grade describes what the rest of the cell looks like.

Hemoptysis: Spitting up of blood that came from the lungs or airways.

Hyperfractionated radiation: A type of external beam radiation in which the total daily dose of radiation is divided into smaller doses that are given more than once a day.

Imaging studies: Methods used to produce a picture of internal body structures. Some imaging methods used to detect cancer are x-rays, CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound.

Immunosuppression: A state in which the ability of the body's immune system to respond is decreased. This condition may be present at birth, or it may be caused by certain infections (such as human immunodeficiency virus or HIV), or by certain cancer therapies, such as cancer-cell killing (cytotoxic) drugs, radiation, and bone marrow transplantation.

Immunotherapy: Treatments that promote or support the body's immune system response to a disease such as cancer.

IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy): Many treatment fields are used to give a concentrated dose of radiation to the area at risk for cancer. Normal tissue is largely spared.

Induction therapy: Treatment used as a first step toward shrinking the cancer. It is also used to see how the cancer responds to specific drugs and other agents. It is followed by more therapy to get rid of any remaining cancer.

Interstitial radiation therapy: A type of treatment in which a radioactive implant is placed directly into the tissue (not in a body cavity).

Lesion: A change in body tissue; sometimes used as another word for tumor

Leukopenia: Decrease in the white blood cell count, often a side effect of chemotherapy

Localized cancer: A cancer that is confined to the place where it started; that is, it has not spread to distant parts of the body.

Lymph: A nearly clear fluid collected from tissues around the body and returned to the blood by the lymphatic system. Lymph drains waste from cells.

Lymphadenopathy: Disease or swelling of the lymph nodes.

Lymphatic system: vessels that carry lymph are part of this system. Other parts include lymph nodes and several organs that produce and store infection-fighting cells.

Lymph nodes: Small bean-shaped structures scattered along the vessels of the lymphatic system. They filter out or remove waste, bacteria, and cancer cell that travel through the lymphatic system.

Malignant tumor: A mass of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body.

Margin, surgical: Edge of the tissue removed during surgery. A negative margin is a sign that no cancer was left behind. A positive margin indicates that cancer cells are found at the outer edge of tissue removed and is usually a sign that some cancer remains in the body

Mediastinum: Space located inside the chest and between the lungs; contains the heart and its large blood vessels, the trachea, the esophagus, the bronchi, and lymph nodes.

Medical oncologist: A doctor who is specially trained to diagnose and treat cancer with chemotherapy and other drugs.

Metastasis: The spread of cancer cells to distant areas of the body by way of the lymph system or bloodstream.

Morbidity: A measure of the new cases of a disease in a population; the number of people who have a disease

Mortality: A measure of the rate of death from a disease within a given population.

Multidrug resistance (MDR): Resistance of tumor cells to several unrelated drugs after exposure to a single chemotherapy drug.

Myelosuppression: A condition in which the bone marrow makes fewer blood cells. This means there are fewer red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. It is a side effect of some cancer treatments.

Neoadjuvant therapy: Systemic therapy, such as chemotherapy or hormone therapy, given before surgery. This type of therapy can shrink some tumors, so that they are easier to remove

Neoplasm: An abnormal growth (tumor) that starts from a single altered cell; a neoplasm may be benign or malignant. Cancer is a malignant neoplasm.

Neuropathy: A problem with any nerve in the body outside the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by infection, very strong drugs, or disease. For example, Taxol can affect the nerves, causing pain and numbness in the hands and feet.

Neutropenia: When the number of blood cells called neutrophils is too low. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that fights infection.

Nuclear medicine scan: A method for localizing diseases of internal organs such as the brain, liver, or bone. Small amounts of a radioactive substance (isotope) are injected into the bloodstream. The isotope collects in certain organs and a special camera called scintillation camera is used to produce an image of the organ and detect areas of disease.

Oat cell carcinoma: A type of lung cancer in which the cells look like oats when viewed under a microscope. Also called small cell lung cancer.

Obstructive pneumonitis: Inflammation of the lungs causing an obstruction of the airway

Oncogenes: Genes that promote cell growth and multiplication. These genes are normally present in all cells. But oncogenes may undergo changes that activate them, causing cells to grow too quickly and form tumors.

Oncologist: A doctor with special training in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Palliative treatment: Treatment that relieves symptoms, such as pain, but is not expected to cure the disease. The main purpose is to improve the patient's quality of life.

Pathologic fracture: This is when a bone breaks because it is weakened by disease. This might be caused by cancer in the bone.

Phase IV trial: After a treatment has been approved and is being marketed, it is studied in a phase IV trial to evaluate side effects that were not apparent in the phase III trial. Thousands of people are involved in a phase IV trial.

Phase III trial: Phase III trials compare the results of people taking a new treatment with the results of people taking the standard treatment (for example, which group has better survival rates or fewer side effects). In most cases, studies move into phase III trials only after a treatment seems to work in phases I and II. Phase III trials may include hundreds of people.

Phase II trial: Phase II cancer trials test whether a new treatment has an anticancer effect (for example, whether it shrinks a cancer or improves blood test results) and whether it works against a certain type of cancer.

Phase I trial: Phase I trials are the first step in testing a new treatment in humans. These studies test the best way to give a new treatment (for example, by mouth, intravenous infusion, or injection), and the best dose. The dose is usually increased a little at a time in order to find the highest dose that does not cause harmful side effects. Because little is known about the possible risks and benefits of the treatments being tested, phase I trials usually include only a small number of patients who have not been helped by other treatments.

Platinol [chemical name: cisplatin]: A drug that kills cancer cells by stopping their growth. It can also make it hard for cancer cells to fix themselves. It is a type of chemotherapy. Pleura: The membrane around the lungs and lining of the chest cavity

Pleurodesis: A medical procedure that uses chemicals or drugs to cause inflammation and adhesion between the layers of the pleura (the tissue that covers the lungs and lines the interior wall of the chest cavity). This prevents the buildup of fluid in the pleural cavity. It is used as a treatment for severe pleural effusion

Pnuemonectomy: Surgery to remove a lung.

Port-a-cath [also called port]: A small device placed under the skin. It empties into a blood vessel and makes it easier to give chemotherapy and to take blood for tests.

Prophylactic: In medicine, something that prevents or protects

Prophylactic cranial irradiation: Radiation therapy to the head to reduce the risk that cancer will spread to the brain.

Protocol: A formal outline or plan, such as a description of what treatments a patient will receive and exactly when each should be given. See also regimen.

Radiation oncologist: A doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer.

Radiation physicist: A person who makes sure that the radiation machine delivers the right amount of radiation to the correct site in the body. The physicist works with the radiation oncologist to choose the treatment schedule and dose that has the best chance of killing the most cancer cells.

Radiation surgery: A radiation therapy technique that delivers radiation directly to the cancer while sparing healthy tissue. Also called radiosurgery and stereotactic external beam irradiation.

Radiation therapist: A person with special training to work the equipment that delivers radiation therapy

Radiation therapy: Treatment with high-energy rays (such as x-rays) to kill or shrink cancer cells. The radiation may come from outside of the body (external radiation) or from radioactive materials placed directly in the tumor (internal or implant radiation). Radiation therapy may be used to reduce the size of a cancer before surgery, to destroy any remaining cancer cells after surgery, or, in some cases, as the main treatment

Radioactive implant: A source of high-dose radiation that is placed directly into or around a tumor to kill the cancer cells. See also, brachytherapy

Radiosensitization: Using a drug to make cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy.

Relapse: Reappearance of cancer after a disease-free period. See recurrence

Remission: Complete or partial disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer in response to treatment; the period during which a disease is under control. A remission may not be a cure.

Sputum cytology: A study of phlegm cells under a microscope to see whether they are normal or not.

Staging: Performing exams and tests to learn the extent of the cancer within the body, especially whether the disease has spread from the original site to other parts of the body. It is important to know the stage of the disease in order to plan the best treatment

Supraclavicular lymph nodes: Lymph nodes that are found just above the collarbone (clavicle).

Survival rate: The percentage of people still alive within a certain period of time after diagnosis or treatment. For cancer, a 5-year survival rate is often given. This does not mean that people can't live more than five years, or that those who live for 5 years are necessarily permanently cured.

Systemic therapy: Treatment that reaches and affects cells throughout the body; for example, chemotherapy

Thoracic surgeon: A doctor who performs surgery to the chest cavity

Thoracotomy: Any surgery involving the chest

Thrombocytopenia: A decrease in the number of platelets in the blood; can be a side effect of chemotherapy.

Thrush: An overgrowth of yeast in the mouth. Usually white spots appear in the mouth and throat. It is a relatively common side effect of chemotherapy or long-term steroid use.

Tracheostomy: Surgery to create an opening of the trachea through the neck.