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73 Cards in this Set
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adjuvant therapy
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Assisting primary treatment. Drugs are given early in the course of treatment, along with surgery or radiation to attack deposits of cancer cells that may be too small to be detected by diagnostic technique
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alkylating agents
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Synthetic chemicals containing alkyl groups that attack DNA, causing strand breaks
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Anaplasia
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Loss of differentiation of cells; reversion to a more primitive cell type
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Angiogenesis
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Process of forming new blood vessels
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Antibiotics
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Chemical substances, produced by bacteria or primitive plants. They inhibit the growth of cells and are used in cancer chemotherapy
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Antimetabolites
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Chemicals that prevent cell division by inhibiting formation of substances necessary to make DNA; used in cancer chemotherapy
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Antimitotics
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Drugs that block mitosis (cell division) Taxol is an antimitotic used to treat breast and ovarian cancers
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apoptosis
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Programmed cell death. Normal cells undergo apoptosis when damaged or aging. Some cancer cells have lost the ability to undergo apoptosis, and they live forever
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Benign tumor
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Non cancerous growth (neoplasm)
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Biological response modifiers
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Substances produced by normal cells that either directly block tumor growth or stimulate the immune system to fight cancer
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Biological therapy
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Use of the body's own defenses to destroy tumor cells
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Brachytherapy
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Radiotherapy that uses insertion of sealed containers into body cavities or radioactive seeds directly into the tumor
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Carcinogens
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Agents that cause cancer: chemicals and drugs, radiation, and viruses
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Carcinoma
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Cancerous tumor made up of cells of epithelial origin
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Cellular oncogenes
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Piece of DNA that, when activated by mutations or by dislocation, can cause a normal cell to become malignant
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Chemotherapy
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Treatment with drugs
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Combination chemotherapy
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Use of several chemotherapeutic agents together for the treatment of tumors
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Dedifferentiation
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Loss of differentiation of cells; reversion to a more primitive, embryonic cell type; anaplasia or undifferentiation
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deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
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Genetic material within the nucleus of a cell; controls cell division and protein synthesis
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Differentiating agents
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drugs that promote tumor cells to differentiate, stop growing, and die
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Differentiation
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Specialization of cells
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Electron beams
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Low-energy beams of radiation for treatment of skin or surface tumors
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Encapsulated
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Surrounded by a capsule benign tumors are encapsulated
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External beam irradiation
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Applying radiation to a tumor from a source outside the body
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Fields
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Dimensions of the area of the body undergoing irradiation
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Fractionation
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Giving radiation in small, repeated doses
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Genetic screening
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Family members are tested to determine whether they have inherited a cancer-causing gene
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Grading of tumors
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Evaluating the degree of maturity of tumor cells or indication of malignant transformation
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Gray (Gy)
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Unit of absorbed radiation dose
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Gross description of tumors
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Visual appearance of tumors to the naked eye: cystic, fungating, inflammatory, medullary, necrotic, polypoid, ulcerating, or verrucous
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Infiltrative
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Extending beyond normal tissue boundaries into adjacent tissues
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Invasive
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Having the ability to enter and destroy surrounding tissue
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Irradiation
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Exposure to any form of radiant energy such as light, heat, or x-rays
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Linear Accelerator
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Large electronic device that produces high-energy x-ray beam for treatment of deep-seated tumors
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Malignant tumor
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A tumor having the characteristics of continuous growth, invasiveness, and metastasis
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mesenchymal
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Embryonic connective tissue, this is the tissue from which connective tissues (bone, muscle, fat, cartilage) arise
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Metastasis
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Span of a malignant tumor to a secondary site; literally, beyond
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Microscopic description of tumors
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Appearance of tumors when viewed under a microscope; alveolar, carcinoma in situ, diffuse, dysplastic, epidermoid, follicular, papillary, pleomorphic, scirrhous, or undifferentiated
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Mitosis
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Replication of cell; a state in a cell's life cycle involving the production of two identical cells from a parent cell
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Mixed-tissue tumors
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Tumors composed of different types of tissue (epithelial as well as connective tissue)
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Modality
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Method of treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation
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Molecularly targeted drugs
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Anticancer drugs designed to block the function of growth factors, their receptors, and signaling pathways in specific tumor cells
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Morbidity
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Condition of being unwell or deficient in normal function
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Mucinous
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Containing mucus
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Mutation
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Change in the genetic material of a cell; may be caused by chemicals, radiation, or viruses or may occur spontaneously
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Neoplasm
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New growth; benign or malignant tumor
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Nucleotide
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Unit of DNA composed of a sugar, phosphate, and a base. the sequence of arrangement of nucleotides on a gene is the genetic code
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oncogene
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Region of DNA in tumor cells or viruses that cause cancer. Oncogenes are designated by a three-letter names such as abl, erb, jun, myc, ras, and src
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Palliative
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Relieving but not curing symptoms
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pedunculated
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Possessing a stem or stock; characteristic of polypoid tumors
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Photon therapy
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Radiation therapy using energy in the form of x-rays or gamma rays
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Protocol
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Detailed plan for treatment of an illness
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Proton therapy
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Subatomic positively charged particles produced by a cyclotron deposit a dose of radiation at a tightly focused point in the body
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Radiation
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Energy carried by a stream of particles.
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Radiocurable tumor
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Tumor that is destroyed by radiation therapy.
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Radioresistant tumor
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Tumor that requires large doses of radiation to be destroyed.
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Radiosensitive tumor
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Tumor in which radiation can cause the death of cells without serious damage to surrounding tissue.
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radiosensitizers
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Drugs that increase the sensitivity of tumors to x-rays
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Radiotherapy
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Treatment of tumors using doses of radiation; radiation oncology.
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relapse
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Recurrence of tumor after treatment.
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Remission
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Partial or complete disappearance of symptoms of disease.
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Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
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cellular substance that represents a copy of DNA and directs the formation of new protein inside cells
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Sarcoma
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Cancerous tumor derived from connective or flesh tissue
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Serous
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Having the appearance of a thin, watery fluid (serum)
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sessile
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Having no stem; characteristic of some polypoid tumors
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Simulation
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Study using CT scan or MRI to map treatment before radiotherapy is given
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Solid tumor
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Tumor composed of a mass of cells
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Staging of tumors
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System of evaluating the extent of spread of tumors. An example is the TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) system.
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Stereotactic radiosurgery
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Delivery of dose of radiation under stereotactic guidance
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steroids
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Complex, naturally occurring chemicals derived from cholesterol. Some are used in cancer chemotherapy
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Surgical procedures to treat cancer
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Methods of removing cancerous tissue: cryosurgery, cauterizacion, en bloc resection, excisional biopsy, exenteration, fulguration, incisional biopsy
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Viral oncogenes
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Pieces of DNA from viruses that infect a normal cell and cause it to become malignant
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Virus
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An infectious agent that reproduces by entering a host cell and using the host's genetic material to make copies of itself
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