Glossary

ACCRUAL: The number of patients entered in a study.

ACROMEGALY: A chronic disease of adults caused by oversecretion of the pituitary growth hormone and characterized by enlargement of parts of the skeleton, especially the nose, ears, jaws, fingers, and toes.

ANEMIA: A lower than normal number of red blood cells in the blood.

ARM: A specific therapy program under study, often used interchangeably with treatment program, treatment regimen, treatment arm, or treatment. Used when referring to a particular treatment regimen in a study that has more than one regimen.

BENIGN (TUMOR): A tumor that is not cancerous. Benign tumors are rarely a threat to life and can usually be surgically removed.

CARCINOID TUMOR: A tumor occurring in the small intestine, appendix, stomach, or colon.

CHEMOTHERAPY: The treatment of disease, such as cancer, by drugs.

CHOLESTEROL: A fat-like steroid found in animal fats and oils and also produced by the body.

CLINICAL TRIAL: A research study designed to answer specific questions about a particular disease.

COLORECTAL CANCER: Cancer of the colon (large intestine, bowel).

DIAGNOSIS: The process of identifying a disease by its characteristic signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings. Plural: diagnoses.

DOSAGE: The determination and regulation of the size, frequency, and amount of an agent or medication.

ELIGIBILITY: Criteria that must be met prior to patient entry onto a study.

ESTROGEN: One of the female sex hormones produced mainly by the ovaries. Males also produce estrogen, but in much smaller quantities. Estrogen is responsible for the development of the female secondary sex characteristics and also has a major role in the menstrual cycle.

HEPATITIS: Inflammation or swelling of the liver.

INTERFERON ALPHA: A drug (cytokine class) used in cancer therapy.

INTERGROUP: A collaboration of cooperative groups in order to conduct clinical trials.

MALIGNANT: Cancerous - abnormal uncontrolled growth of tissue.

MALIGNANCY: A mass of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread to different areas of the body (see metastases).

MELANOMA: An aggressive type of skin cancer.

METASTASES: The spread of cancer cells to distant areas of the body by way of the lymph system or blood stream.

MULTIPLE MYELOMA: A cancer of the bone marrow in which there is uncontrolled growth of plasma cells.

ONCOLOGY: The science dealing with the properties and features of cancer, including the causes and the disease process.

PERFORMANCE STATUS: The physical status of a patient (Karnofsky scale, ECOG scale), which represents the level of activity.

PLACEBO: A substance that has no effect on a patient. It is sometimes given to members of the control group during an experimental trial.

PROTOCOLS: A formal document for a study, written by a scientist, that details the exact patient population, the treatment selection rational, hypotheses under study, method of treatment, method of observation, and data to be reported.

RADIATION THERAPY/RADIOTHERAPY: Treatment of cancer with high-energy radiation.

RANDOMIZATION: A statistical plan by which treatments are assigned by chance to patients under study. Randomization is the basis of the statistical design used in the clinical trial setting.

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA: A type of skin cancer that usually appears as red, scaly patches on the lips, face, and tips of ears, but can also occur in other sites, such as the cervix and lungs.

STAGE OF DISEASE: An evaluation of the extent of the disease. Classifying disease based on stage at diagnosis helps to determine appropriate treatment and prognosis.

TAMOXIFEN: An anti-estrogen used in cancer therapy.

TRIGLYCERIDES: Fats - found in the bloodstream and stored in adipose (fat) tissue.

TUMOR: A new and spontaneous growth of tissue that forms an abnormal mass. Tumors can be benign or malignant.

TUMOR GRADE: A classification of tumor size.