NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms (2024)

FAQs

What is the NCI definition of cancer? ›

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. Established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of 11 agencies that make up the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

As defined by the National Cancer Institute, cancer that occurs in fewer than 15 out of 100,000 people each year. Most types of cancer are considered rare, and they are often more difficult to prevent, diagnose, and treat than the more common cancers.

| Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) | American Cancer Society.

The Cancer emoji ♋ depicts the sign of Cancer, a constellation and one of the 12 zodiac signs in astrology. It is commonly used to represent Cancer, people whose zodiac sign is Cancer, and astrology in general.

Three designations are recognized: Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Clinical Cancer Centers, and Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers.

Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs.

Genetic changes that cause cancer can happen because: of errors that occur as cells divide. of damage to DNA caused by harmful substances in the environment, such as the chemicals in tobacco smoke and ultraviolet rays from the sun. (Our Cancer Causes and Prevention section has more information.)

The hallmarks constitute an organizing principle for rationalizing the complexities of neoplastic disease. They include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and activating invasion and metastasis.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer that starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. Adults and children can get it but it is most often diagnosed in younger people. Chemotherapy is the main treatment. Some people need to have a stem cell transplant.

What is AA in cancer? ›

Aplastic anaemia (AA) is a rare condition in which the bone marrow fails produce all three major types of blood cell.

A remission (complete remission) is usually defined as having no evidence of leukemia after treatment. This means the bone marrow contains fewer than 5% blast cells, the blood cell counts are within normal limits, and there are no signs or symptoms of the disease.

Origin of the word cancer

In Greek, these words refer to a crab, most likely applied to the disease because the finger-like spreading projections from a cancer called to mind the shape of a crab. The Roman physician, Celsus (25 BC - 50 AD), later translated the Greek term into cancer, the Latin word for crab.

The system uses letters and numbers to describe the cancer. T refers to the size of the cancer and how far it has spread into nearby tissue. It can be 1, 2, 3 or 4, with 1 being small and 4 large. N refers to whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. It can be between 0 and 3.

Symbol: ♋ The sideways 6's and/or 9's of the symbol of Cancer are thought to represent crab claws.

Cancer survivorship is a state of being, including the perspectives, needs, health, and the physical, psychological, social, and economic challenges experienced by people and caregivers after a cancer diagnosis. Definition of Cancer Survivorship, definition and graphic developed by the National Cancer Institute.

Cancer refers to diseases in which abnormal cells divide out of control and are able to invade other tissues.

(KLIH-nih-kul REE-serch) Research in which people, or data or samples of tissue from people, are studied to understand health and disease. Clinical research helps find new and better ways to detect, diagnose, treat, and prevent disease.