A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Adjuvant
When a treatment is given after another, such as surgery, it is termed "adjuvant." For example, adjuvant chemotherapy is sometimes given after tumor removal (surgical resection).
Breast
The breast, properly called mammary gland, is one of a pair of glands that, in the female mammal, including humans, provides sustenance to the young. The breast structure comprises milk ducts, connective tissue and fat. The milk ducts and lobular tissue (part of the breast where milk is produced) are where most types of breast cancer originate.
Cancer
Cancer is a class of diseases rather than a single disease. Cancers are the result of uncontrolled cell growth. The danger arises from the ability of these cells to invade other tissues. Cancer cells may grow directly into surrounding tissue. Cancer cells may also migrate to distant sites in the body, a process called metastasis. Such unregulated growth results from changes (mutations) to DNA within cells. Mutations damage genetic information that program the cell's machinery. In the case of cancer, mutations remove normal control of cell growth.
Chemotherapy
Use of drugs (chemicals) to treat cancer is called chemotherapy. Some drugs attack the cancer cell life cycle. They may prevent a cancer cell from dividing. Other drugs may prevent blood vessels growing toward the tumor, thus holding back nutrients that help the tumor grow. Chemotherapy's drawback is that the drugs often have unpleasant side effects. Drugs commonly used to treat early stage breast cancer include cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil, and doxorubicin.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information and DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.
This anticancer drug is also called taxotere. It belongs to a family of drugs called mitotic inhibitors. These chemotherapy agents (also called taxanes) block microtubule formation during cell division. Since uncontrolled cell division is a main feature of cancers, docetaxel may be effective at preventing prostate cancer from growing or making prostate cancer grow slower. Clinical studies have shown that docetaxel treatment lengthens the life of and improves quality of life for men with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
Gene
A gene is the biological unit of inheritance that is passed from parent to child. Genes are made from DNA.
Genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, including how the effect genes have on the body and how genes affect inheritance.
Genome
The genome is the collection of all our genes. It provides the blueprint for the human body. Scientists estimate that the human genome contains 20,000 to 25,000 genes.
Genomic profile
A cell's function is controlled by coordinating thousands of genes switching on and off at different times in its life cycle. Different cells (e.g., bone, skin, muscle, liver, prostate, etc.) all have the same genes but some are switched on and others are switched off, resulting in their different features and behavior. The genomic profile is a comprehensive map of which genes in a cell are switched on. The profile is obtained with use of microarray technology.
Genomics
Genomics is the study of the genome, including how the genome is structured and how it functions in health and disease.
Hormone refractory
Some types of prostate cancer do not shrink with hormone treatment and others become hormone resistant over time. These poorly responding or resistant cancers are termed "hormone refractory". A patient is usually considered hormone-refractory if he has very low testosterone levels and three blood tests in a row show an increasing PSA while on hormone treatment.
Lung
A measurement based on a tumor's genomic profile that allows doctors to predict the chance of early stage NSCLC recurring. This technology is not yet available to doctors or patients but research is underway to evaluate its efficacy at predicting recurrence.
Lung Metagene Score (LMS)
A measurement based on a tumor's genomic profile that allows doctors to predict the chance of early stage NSCLC recurring. This technology is not yet available to doctors or patients but research is underway to evaluate its efficacy at predicting recurrence.
Metastasis
When cancer cells spread from one part of the body to another, they are said to have metastasized. Metastasis usually takes place via the lymphatic system or by the blood stream. An aggressive cancer will metastasize more readily than a less aggressive one. Metastasized cancer is harder to treat than localized cancer because the cells inhabit more than one tissue. This means that a treatment that might work on a cancer in one tissue may be less effective if the cancer cells reside in another tissue.
Microarray
A laboratory technology that is used to study if a large number of genes are switched on or off in a tissue sample. A microarray is also called a DNA chip or a gene chip. It is the technology used to obtain a genomic profile.
Neoadjuvant
When a treatment is given prior to another, such as surgery, it is termed "neoadjuvant." For example, neoadjuvant hormone therapy is sometimes given before prostate removal (radical prostatectomy).
NSCLC Stages
Non-small cell lung cancer is characterized by its stages of development. From the beginning the disease progresses to more serious stages.
Stage I: cancerous cells are present in the lungs but before the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Personalized Medicine
The use of a person's clinical, genetic, genomic, and environmental information to select a medication, its dose, or to choose a therapy, or recommend preventive health measures. The goal of personalized medicine is optimize the health care and medical outcomes for each individual.
Phase I clinical trial
A research study that tests new drugs or treatment approaches in humans for the first time.
Phase II clinical trial
A research study that examines the effects of study drugs or treatmentsprocedures in a larger number of patients than a phase I study. Phase II trials are sometimes referred to as preliminary safety and efficacy studies.
Prostate gland
A gland is an organ that produces and releases one or more substances for use in the body. The prostate is a spherical gland in the male reproductive system. Located just below the bladder, it surrounds a section of the urethra, (the duct that empties the bladder). It produces a fluid that contributes to the seminal fluid.
Prostatectomy
In many cases of localized prostate cancer, removal of the prostate is the best option to maximize the chances of successful treatment of the cancer.
RNA Ribonucleic acid or RNA is a nucleic acid polymer consisting of nucleotide monomers that plays several important roles in the processes that translate genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into protein products; RNA acts as a messenger between DNA and the protein synthesis complexes known as ribosomes, forms vital portions of ribosomes, and acts as an essential carrier molecule for amino acids to be used in protein synthesis.