Chapter 19

Bone Marrow Study

A test to detect abnormal bone marrow cells, which can indicate leukemia Samples bone marrow by puncturing a bone & aspirating bone marrow for analysis.

Tumor

Abnormal growth, swelling, or enlargement May be benign or malignant. It is a common misconception that a tumor is always malignant.

Carcinogen

Agent or substance that incites or produces cancer

Leukemia

Cancer of the blood characterized by overproduction of leukocytes; cancer of the blood-forming tissue

Pap Smear

Cytological screening test developed by Dr. George Papanicolaou and used to detect the presence of abnormal or cancerous cells from the cervix and the vagina Usually performed on female cervical cells but can be performed as part of a lung cell analysis

In situ

Enclosed within a site; refers to tumor cells that remain at a site and have not invaded adjacent tissue Non-invasive and no Mets; commonly seen in female cervical cancer

Kaposi's sarcoma

Malignant neoplasm that causes violaceous (purplish discoloration) vascular lesions and general lymphadenopathy; often seen in patients who have AIDS Commonly associated with AIDS.

Carcinoma

Malignant tumor arising in epithelial tissue Common term to refer to a cancerous tumor.

Primary site

Original, initial, or principal site Where the cancer originated.

Malignant

Pertaining to a bad wandering; refers to the spreading process of cancer from one area of the body to another Cancerous.

Palliative

Pertaining to a form of treatment to relieve or alleviate symptoms without curing Performed to relieve symptoms without curing such as for a patient with brain cancer who has seizures due to the growth & impingement of the tumor on brain tissue. In this situation, a few radiation treatments to the brain could help "shrink" the tumor &, hopefully, decrease or eliminate the seizures.

Precancerous

Pertaining to changes or conditions before the onset of cancer Leukoplakia is an example of a precancerous condition.

Invasive

Pertaining to the spreading process of a malignant tumor into normal tissue Is no longer "in situ" but has invaded into nearby tissue.

Sentinel Node biopsy

Process by which a physician pinpoints the first lymph node into which a tumor drains (the sentinel node) and removes only the nodes most likely to contain cancer cells. to locate the sentinel node, the physician injects a radioactive tracer in the area around the tumor. The tracer travels the same path to the lymph nodes that cancer cells would take, making it possible for the surgeon to determine the one or two nodes most likely to test positive. The surgeon then removes the nodes most likely to be cancerous for evaluation and staging.

Exacerbation

Process of increasing the severity of symptoms; a time when the symptoms of a disease are most prevalent Increase in symptoms. Frequently used when discussing the status of the patient with CA.

Remission

Process of lessening the severity of symptoms; time when symptoms of a disease are controlled Symptoms are not apparent. The disease may remain or be non-detectable. MS and Lymphoma are two examples of diseases that may go "into remission".

Needle biopsy

Puncture of a timor for the removal of a core of tissue through the lumen of a needle Physician obtains the biopsy specimen using a needle.

Brachytherapy

Radiation therapy in which the radioactive substance is inserted into a body cavity or organ. The source of radiation is located a short distance from the body area being treated

Endoscopic biopsy

Removal of a piece of tissue through an endoscope Physician obtains biopsy specimen using an endoscope.

Secondary site

Second site usually derived from the primary site May be referred to as a metastatic or secondary site if the same tumor type is found as was determined from the Primary Site.

Myeloma

Tumor arising in the hematopoietic portion of the bone marrow

TNM

Tumor, Node, Metastasis Know what each letter of the abbreviation means.

Bronchoscopy

Use of a bronchoscope to examine the bronchi

Colonoscopy

Use of a colonoscope to examine the colon

Colposcopy

Use of a colposcope to examine the cervix and the vagina Colpo: refers to the female cervix & vagina

Cystoscopy

Use of a cystoscope to examine the bladder

Gastroscopy

Use of a gastroscope to examine the interior of the stomach

Laparoscopy

Use of a laparoscope to examine the abdomen

Laryngoscopy

Use of laryngoscope to examine the interior of the larynx

Leukoplakia

White, thickened patches formed on the mucous membranes of the inner cheeks, gums, or tongue that tend to become cancerous Is a precursor to some types of Cancer. Often seen in the mouth or female cervix as white patches.

Lesion

Wound; an injury, altered tissue, or a single infected patch of skin May be benign or cancerous. Needs a pathologist to diagnose the cell type, etc.

Bx

biopsy The "B" must be upper case & the "x" must be lower case to be correct.

Sigmoidoscopy

use of a sigmoidoscope to examine the lower 10 inches of the large intestines

Adenocarcinoma

ACA- Malignant timer arising in a glandular organ Type of cancer found in many organs

Sarcoma

Cancerous tumor arising in connective tissue

Lymphoma

Cancerous tumor of lymphoid tissue

Melanoma

Literally means a black tumor. A melanoma is a cancerous tumor Previously discuss in Chapter 5 - Integumentary. Good picture in book.

Mets

Metastasis Very common in both speaking & writing; Example, Colon Cancer with mets to the Liver (meaning the colon cancer is now in the liver.) Note:Only the M is capped;

Neoplasm

New tissue formed, such as an abnormal growth or tumor Refers to any growth...either malignant or benign.

Biopsy

Note: All biopsies are sent to Pathology for pathologist to identify tissue. Then the Oncologist determines the treatment.

Endoscopy

Provides the physician a direct view of certain portions of the body. Non-specific term.

Metastasis (Mets)

Spreading process of cancer from a primary site to a secondary site. Similarly invasive growth is the spreading process of a malignant tumor into adjacent normal tissue Spreading of cancer from one site/organ to another.

Incisional biopsy

Surgical in vision to remove a section or wedge of tissue from the suspected body site Only part is removed.

Excisional biopsy

Surgical removal of a piece of tissue from the suspected body site Sometimes the entire lesion or tumor is removed in an Excisional Biopsy

Fecal occult blood test

Test to detect occult (hidden) blood in the stool (feces); if present, further testing would be needed to check for possible cancer of the colon This tests feces for the presence of "hidden" blood.

Staging: TNM

The staging system uses the letters T (tumor), N (node), and M (metastasis) to indicate spread and use numerical subscripts to indicate degree of tumor involvement. The numerical system used to classify the staging of cancer describes the various stages according to the extent of the spreading process. Stage 0- Cancer is situ (limited to inner lining surface of the organ and not invading the organ) Stage 1- Cancer limited to the tissue of origin and has not spread past the tissue or organ where it started Stage 2- Limited local spread of cancerous cells, sometimes to lymph nodes Stage 3- Extensive local and regional spread of cancer, usually to draining lymph nodes Stage 6- Distant metastasis, has spread beyond the regional lymph nodes to distant parts of the body Know what the word is for each letter: Tumor, Node, Metastasis in the paragraph titled "Staging".

CA

cancer The "C" and the "A" must be upper case to be correct and there are no periods.