Patient Resources · Glossary
Oncology glossary
Cancer comes with its own vocabulary. This A–Z glossary explains the terms you'll hear in clinic, in reports, and in conversations with your family — in plain English, with no assumed background.
A
- Adenocarcinoma
- A cancer that begins in the gland-forming cells lining many internal organs.
- Adjuvant Therapy also: post-operative therapy
- Additional treatment given after surgery to lower the risk of cancer coming back.
- Anemia also: low haemoglobin, low Hb
- A low red blood cell count that causes tiredness, breathlessness and pale skin.
- Antiemetic also: anti-sickness medicine
- A medicine that prevents or controls nausea and vomiting.
- Apoptosis also: programmed cell death
- The body's built-in process of programmed cell death that keeps tissues healthy.
B
- Benign also: non-cancerous
- A non-cancerous growth that does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other organs.
- Biopsy
- A small sample of tissue taken from the body and examined under a microscope.
- Bone Marrow Biopsy also: BMA, BMAT, marrow biopsy
- A procedure that samples the spongy tissue inside a bone to look for blood-cell disorders.
- Brachytherapy also: internal radiation, sealed-source radiotherapy
- A form of radiation therapy that places a radioactive source directly inside or next to the tumour.
- BRCA1 / BRCA2 also: BRCA1, BRCA2, breast cancer gene
- Inherited gene mutations that significantly raise the lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
C
- Carcinoma
- Cancer that begins in the surface (epithelial) cells lining the skin and internal organs.
- Complete Blood Count (CBC) also: CBC, full blood count, FBC
- A common blood test that measures red cells, white cells and platelets.
- Chemoradiation also: concurrent chemoradiotherapy, CRT
- Chemotherapy and radiation given together to make each treatment more effective.
- Chemotherapy also: chemo, cytotoxic therapy
- Drug treatment that kills cancer cells throughout the body.
- Clinical Trial also: trial, research study
- A carefully designed research study that tests new cancer treatments in patients.
- CT Scan also: CAT scan, computed tomography
- A detailed X-ray scan that builds cross-sectional images of the body.
- Cytology also: cell pathology
- The microscopic study of individual cells to look for cancer or other abnormalities.
D
- Differentiation
- How closely cancer cells resemble normal, mature cells of the tissue they came from.
- DNA also: deoxyribonucleic acid
- The molecule that carries the genetic instructions inside every cell of the body.
E
- EGFR also: epidermal growth factor receptor
- A protein on the surface of some cancer cells that can be blocked by targeted drugs.
- Excisional Biopsy also: lumpectomy biopsy
- A biopsy in which the entire lump or suspicious area is removed for examination.
F
- Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) also: FNAC, FNA, fine-needle aspiration
- A quick test that uses a thin needle to draw cells from a lump for microscopic examination.
G
- Genetic Testing also: genomic testing, molecular profiling
- Tests that examine genes to find inherited risk or to guide cancer treatment.
- Grade also: tumour grade, histological grade
- A score from the pathologist describing how abnormal the cancer cells look under the microscope.
H
- Hematologic Malignancy also: blood cancer
- A cancer that arises in the blood, bone marrow or lymphatic system.
- HER2 also: HER2/neu, ERBB2
- A growth protein over-expressed in some breast and stomach cancers, which can be targeted with specific drugs.
- Histology also: histopathology
- The microscopic study of tissue to identify cancer type and features.
- Hodgkin Lymphoma also: HL, Hodgkin disease
- A type of lymphoma defined by the presence of distinctive Reed-Sternberg cells.
- Hormonal Therapy also: endocrine therapy, anti-hormone therapy
- Cancer treatment that blocks the hormones that fuel certain tumours.
I
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC) also: IHC, immunostaining
- A laboratory test that uses antibodies to detect specific proteins in tumour tissue.
- Immunotherapy also: checkpoint inhibitor therapy, biological therapy
- Treatment that helps the body's own immune system find and destroy cancer cells.
- In Situ also: stage 0, non-invasive
- Early-stage cancer that has not yet broken through into surrounding tissue.
- Invasive also: infiltrating, malignant
- Cancer that has grown beyond its starting layer into surrounding tissue.
L
- Leukemia also: blood cancer, AML, ALL, CML, CLL
- A cancer of the white blood cells that begins in the bone marrow.
- Lymph Node also: lymph gland
- Small bean-shaped immune organs that filter lymph fluid and often show the first signs of cancer spread.
- Lymphedema also: lymphoedema
- Swelling of a limb caused by build-up of lymph fluid after lymph nodes are removed or damaged.
- Lymphoma
- A cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's immune defence.
M
- Margin also: surgical margin, resection margin
- The rim of normal-looking tissue around a tumour after it is surgically removed.
- Mastectomy
- Surgery to remove all or most of the breast tissue, usually to treat breast cancer.
- Metastasis also: secondaries, metastatic disease, stage IV, mets
- Cancer that has spread from where it started to another part of the body.
- MRI also: magnetic resonance imaging
- A scan that uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of soft tissues.
- Mucositis also: oral mucositis, stomatitis
- Painful inflammation of the mouth and gut lining that can occur during cancer treatment.
- Multiple Myeloma also: myeloma, plasma cell myeloma
- A cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow that can cause bone pain, anemia and kidney problems.
N
- Neoadjuvant Therapy also: pre-operative therapy, induction therapy
- Treatment given before the main therapy (usually surgery) to shrink the tumour first.
- Neoplasm also: tumor, tumour, new growth
- Any abnormal new growth of tissue, which may be benign or malignant.
- Neutropenia also: low white count, febrile neutropenia
- A low neutrophil count that increases the risk of serious infection during chemotherapy.
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma also: NHL, B-cell lymphoma, T-cell lymphoma
- A large group of lymphomas that lack Reed-Sternberg cells and behave very differently from Hodgkin lymphoma.
O
- Oncologist
- A doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating cancer.
P
- Palliative Care also: supportive care
- Specialist care focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life at any stage of cancer.
- PET-CT also: PET scan, FDG-PET
- A combined scan that shows both the structure and the metabolic activity of tissues.
- Platinum Agent also: cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin
- A family of powerful chemotherapy drugs (such as cisplatin and carboplatin) used in many cancers.
- Prognosis also: outlook
- A doctor's best estimate of how a cancer is likely to behave and respond to treatment.
- Protocol also: regimen, treatment plan
- A standardised plan that specifies the drugs, doses and schedule for a course of cancer treatment.
R
- Radiation Therapy also: radiotherapy, XRT, RT
- Treatment that uses high-energy beams to destroy cancer cells in a targeted area.
- Recurrence also: relapse
- The return of cancer after a period of being undetectable.
- Remission also: CR, complete response, partial response
- A reduction or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer after treatment.
- Resection also: surgical removal, excision
- Surgery to cut out a tumour, often together with a rim of surrounding normal tissue.
S
- Sarcoma
- A relatively rare cancer that arises from connective tissues such as bone, muscle, fat or cartilage.
- Staging also: stage, cancer stage
- The process of finding out how large a cancer is and whether it has spread.
- Stem Cell Transplant also: bone marrow transplant, BMT, SCT, HSCT
- Replacing diseased or damaged bone marrow with healthy blood-forming stem cells.
T
- Targeted Therapy also: precision medicine, molecular therapy
- Drugs designed to attack specific molecules involved in cancer growth, with less harm to normal cells.
- Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) also: TKI, kinase inhibitor
- Oral targeted drugs that block specific growth signals inside cancer cells.
- TNM Staging also: TNM, TNM system
- The international system that describes cancer by tumour size (T), node involvement (N) and metastasis (M).
- Tumor Marker also: tumour marker, biomarker
- A substance, usually measured in blood, that can indicate the presence or activity of a cancer.
U
- Ultrasound also: sonography, USG
- A safe scan that uses sound waves to create real-time pictures of organs and lumps.
Can't find a term?
If something you've read or heard isn't in the glossary, message the clinic — we'll explain it, and we'll add it here for the next person.
Medically reviewed by
Dr. Rehan Abdullah
Dr. Rehan Abdullah is a dual-trained clinical and radiation oncologist with over a decade of experience treating both solid tumours and hematologic malignancies. He serves as Consultant Oncologist at INMOL Hospital and sees patients at Farooq Hospital and Healthnox Medical Center, Lahore. Read full profile →
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