ADL

activities of daily living

Adjuvant

therapies delivered after the primary treatment to (e.g.) destroy remaining cancer cells

ANC

absolute neutrophil count, the absolute number of bacterial infection-fighting blood cells low means a notably higher risk for infection

Antibody

protective proteins produced by your immune systme.  they attach to antigens such as bacteria, viruses, toxins, and remove them from your body

Antigen

a marker that tells your immune system if something in your body is harmful or not.  Found on viruses, bacteria, tumors, and normal cells.  Antigen testing is done to diagnose viral infections, monitor and screen for certain conditions and determine whether a donor is a good match for a transplant

Atelectasis

incomplete expansion or collapse of a portion of the lung or the whole lung

BAC

bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, a unique and uncommon subtype of lung cancer

Biomarker Testing

sometimes referred to as molecular testing or genetic testing, done by obtaining a small amount of tissue (a biopsy) from a tumor, or by drawing a blood sample; the tissue or blood sample is sent to a lab for testing and can provide information about the tumor and help determine a personalized treatment path.  can also be used to check for changes in a gene or chromosome that may increase the risk of developing cancer or other diseases

Bispecific Antibodies

Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) have two distinct binding domains that can bind to two antigens or two epitopes (an antigen part) of the same antigen simultaneously.  BSAbs are the next generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).    More information is available here

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is when breast cells mutate and become cancerous cells that multiply and form tumors.

Bone Marrow Transplant

A bone marrow transplant is a procedure that infuses healthy blood-forming stem cells into your body to replace bone marrow that's not producing enough healthy blood cells.

CR

complete response (after treatment), leading to no evidence of disease (NED)

CT

computerized tomography, “cat scan”, a detailed look at the body at varying levels internally, “slice by slice”

CT/PET

a combined scan that does a simultaneous CT, which measures the shape and size of body structures, with PET, which measures metabolic activity. The images can then

CTC

circulating tumor cells, in blood

CTCs

circulating tumor cells

CXR

chest x-ray

Chemotherapy

Treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. 

DCR

disease control rate, the combination of response rate and proportion of patients achieving stable disease

DNI

“do not intubate”, an order to not place an endotracheal (“breathing”) tube down the trachea (windpipe) in order to be placed on a mechanical ventilation machine

DNR

“do not resuscitate”, an order to not perform chest compressions, defibrillation, etc., in the event that a person is unresponsive and has no pulse, etc.

Dx

diagnosis

EGFR

epidermal growth factor receptor, a key target that modulates growth and division of cancer cells

FISH

fluorescence in situ hybridization, a method for detecting the number of copies of a gene in tumor cells, “positive” being higher than expected for a normal cell

Gy

Gray, the units of radiation dosing

HCT

the percentage of blood that is comprised of red blood cells, normally approximately 38-45%, but commonly below that in patients receiving cancer treatment

Hematocrit

the percentage of blood that is comprised of red blood cells, normally approximately 38-45%, but commonly below that in patients receiving cancer treatment

IHC

immunohistochemistry, a method for detecting levels of specific proteins on tumor cells

INR

international normalized ratio, a measurement of the degree of blood thinning, compared to an international standard, in which an INR of 2 corresponds to blood requiring twice as long as normal blood to develop a clot

IV

intravenous

LAN

lymphadenopathy, abnormally enlarged lymph nodesmedian the number within a population for which half of the values are above and half are below it; this reflects the general trend of how a population does but discounts the “pull” of the extremes on either side

LIQUID BIOPSY

A type of test used to find cancer cells and cancer DNA in the blood.

LIVER HEMANGIOMA

The most common type of benign liver tumor, hemangiomas, starts in blood vessels. Most hemangiomas of the liver cause no symptoms and do not need treatment. But some may bleed and need to be removed with surgery.

MRI

magnetic resonance imaging, a type of scan particularly good at evaluating brain, muscle, bone, nerves

N/V

nausea and vomiting

Neoadjuvant

the administration of therapeutic agents before a main treatment, treatment given as a first step to (e.g.) shrink a tumor before the main treatment is given

NED

no evidence of disease, a nice report to get

NSCLC

non-small cell lung cancer, main subtypes including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma

ORR

objective response rate

OS

overall survival

p-value

the probability that an observed occurrence would occur by chance alone; convention is that something is considered “statistically significant” if the “p-value” is less than 0.05, translating to a less than 5% chance of the event occurring by chance.

pack-years

The product of the number of years a person has smoked by the average number of cigarette packs smoked per day

PCR

polymerase chain reaction, a sensitive method for detecting gene mutations in cancer cells

PD

progressive disease

PEG

percutaneous endoscopic gastrostromy tube, or G-tube tube placed endoscopically that is anchored in the stomach and passes out through the abdominal wall, through which “tube feedings” of nutrition and fluids, as well as medicines, can be administered

PET

positron-emission tomography, a type of scan that measures metabolic activity, which tends to highlight areas of cancer

PFS

progression-free survival, the length of time during and after the treatment of a disease that a patient lives with the disease but it does not get worse

platelets

blood cells that contribute to the clotting process, normally in the 150,000 to 450,000 range, although commonly below that in patients receiving cancer treatment

PLT

platelets

PO

oral, by mouth

PR

partial response (generally defined as ~50% tumor shrinkage, or greater)

PRN

as needed

PS

performance status, a score that estimates the patient's ability to perform certain activities of daily living (ADLs) without the help of others

Pt

patient

Px

prognosis

QOL

quality of life

RBC

red blood cells, the oxygen-carrying blood cells (anemia means low RBC levels)

RR

response rate

RT

Radiation therapy

Rx

treatment

Survivorship Phases

Acute survivorship:

  • diagnosis conclusion initial treatment 
  • focus: treatment

Extended survivorship:

  • conclusion of initial treatment and post-treatment window
  • focus: cancer and treatment effects

Permanent survivorship:

  • defined time window since conclusion of treatment
    • significantly reduced chance of recurrence
    • focus: long term effects of cancer and treatments

Scanxiety

an increased level of anxiety patients can sometimes feel before, during, and after a scan meant to diagnose, monitor progression, etc.  Scanxiety is a term used to discuss the stress and worry that accompanies a scan.  Many factors can cause scanxiety.  Often it is experienced leading up to a radiology test.  

SCLC

small cell lung cancer staged as LD and ED for limited disease and extensive disease, respectively (often written as SCLC-ED, for instance)

SD

stable disease

SUV

standard uptake value, the unit of measuring metabolic activity on a PET scan

Tx

treatment

VEGF

vascular endothelial growth factor, the most important modulator of new blood vessel formation, and the target for “anti-angiogenic” agents

WBC

white blood cells, infection-fighting blood cells, of which there are a few types

XRT

external beam radiation therapy (basically, standard radiation)