Medical Terminology Flashcards: Oncology Terms, Cancer Types, Staging, Treatment

A benign tumor is a non-cancerous growth that does not invade surrounding tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Benign tumors are usually well-defined, encapsulated, slow-growing, and rarely life-threatening unless they compress vital structures. A malignant tumor is cancerous, capable of invading adjacent tissues and metastasizing to distant organs through the blood or lymphatic system. Malignant tumors grow rapidly, lack clear borders, and are life-threatening if untreated.

Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor site to distant organs or tissues through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The term comes from meta meaning beyond and stasis meaning standing or placement. The new tumor at the distant site is called a metastatic tumor or secondary tumor and contains the same type of cancer cells as the primary tumor. For example, breast cancer that spreads to the bone is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer. Common sites of metastasis include the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.

Carcinoma is a malignant tumor arising from epithelial tissue, which lines body surfaces and organs. Epithelial cancers are the most common, accounting for approximately 85 percent of all cancers, and include breast, lung, colon, prostate, and skin cancers. The combining form is carcin meaning cancer. Sarcoma is a malignant tumor arising from connective tissue including bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessels. Sarcomas are much rarer, accounting for about 1 percent of adult cancers.

A biopsy is the removal of a tissue sample for microscopic examination to determine whether disease, particularly cancer, is present. The term comes from bio meaning life and opsy meaning to view. Main types include excisional biopsy where the entire lesion is removed, incisional biopsy where a portion of the lesion is removed, needle biopsy where a needle extracts tissue from a mass, and endoscopic biopsy where tissue is sampled during a scoping procedure.

Chemotherapy means treatment with chemical agents, from chemo meaning chemical and therapy meaning treatment. In oncology, chemotherapy uses cytotoxic drugs that kill rapidly dividing cells by interfering with cell division, DNA replication, or other growth processes. Because chemotherapy targets all rapidly dividing cells, not just cancer cells, it also affects healthy tissues like bone marrow, hair follicles, and the gastrointestinal lining, causing side effects such as myelosuppression, alopecia meaning hair loss, nausea, and mucositis.

Oncology is the branch of medicine devoted to the study and treatment of cancer, from onco meaning tumor or mass and logy meaning the study of. An oncologist is a physician specializing in cancer care. Medical oncologists treat cancer with systemic therapies including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy. Surgical oncologists perform cancer surgeries to remove tumors and surrounding tissue. Radiation oncologists treat cancer with radiation therapy. Hematologist-oncologists specialize in blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. ---