Cancer glossary: 13 terms to know about your diagnosis

If you or a loved one have recently been被诊断出患有癌症，您可能听到很多术语阶段，，，，年级，，，，预后或者最小残留疾病。Even if you’ve heard terms related to cancer diagnosis and treatment before, it’s important to make sure you fully understand what they mean.

“There are a lot of personal choices that come with a cancer diagnosis,” says breast medical oncologistAjit Bisen, M.D.“So, patients and their loved ones should educate themselves as much as possible to make the right decisions for them. Not all cancer is the same, and best treatment should always be tailored for the individual patient.”

了解这些术语可以更好地帮助您准备治疗并塑造您的癌症体验。在这里，双族定义了十三个常见cancer所有患者和看护人都应该知道。

预后：An estimate of how successful treatment will be based on data from previous patients who’ve had similar diagnoses and treatment. Although prognosis isn’t a guarantee, it gives a ballpark idea of life expectancy. This helps patients and their care team work together to decide the best treatment to meet a patient’s goals for care. For some patients, that means working toward没有疾病的证据，，，，but for other patients, it may meanldsports乐动体育 或者even attending a granddaughter’s wedding this summer.

Grade:癌细胞分裂和肿瘤的生长如何根据显微镜下病理学家观察的肿瘤细胞的外观生长。更快的癌细胞繁殖，越高年级。If the cells are doubling rapidly, a small tumor could have a higher grade than a large tumor with cells that aren’t multiplying as quickly. A cancer’s grade helps define its stage in some cancers, like breast cancer.

Stage:指诊断时癌症从原始部位扩散了多少。Breast cancer其他一些癌症可以从第0阶段开始，称为癌in situ。But many cancers range from阶段I to stage IV。癌症具有严格定义的分期标准。对于乳腺癌，分期是根据几个因素计算的，例如肿瘤的大小和等级，受影响的淋巴结有多少，以及雌激素受体，孕酮受体，HER-2表达等生物标志物。一旦您的护理团队确定了癌症及其阶段的类型，他们就可以为您推荐最佳治疗选择。

Histology:显微镜下肿瘤细胞的出现。通过活检，一块肿瘤的组织被去除并在显微镜下检查，以确定癌症的独特建筑和外观。然后进行其他测试以确定癌症的类型和亚型。

Disease progression:Cancer is spreading or growing. With solid tumors, this is determined through routine scans during treatment, but some patients become aware of progression as they develop new or worsening symptoms。一些血液检查也可以用于提供有关疾病进展的更多信息。

本地高级：当癌症扩散到原始肿瘤部位附近的淋巴结时。如果癌症已扩散到距离原始部位较远的其他器官或淋巴结，则称为远处转移性疾病。

Invasive:When cancer is isolated to a specific area, like milk ducts within the breast, it’s considered non-invasive and referred to asin situ。Cancer is considered invasive when it grows beyond the natural architectural boundary of the original tumor site. This will be determined when the pathologist reviews your histology.

Tumor burden:How much cancer you have in your body. Patients with a high tumor burden may have several tumors in different locations throughout the body.Tumor burden通常用于描述更先进的癌症诊断。

Refractory:描述对治疗没有反应的癌症。这可能是在治疗开始时发生的，或者在患者接受了几种不同的疗法后，癌症可能对治疗具有抵抗力。

最小残留疾病：通常与白血病或淋巴瘤等血液癌一起使用，指的是剩余的癌细胞水平很小。它具有严格的测试标准。该术语通常不用于实体瘤。

Mixed response:当患者的肿瘤对同一治疗的反应不同时。有时，一个肿瘤部位会对治疗做出反应，并变小，而体内其他地方的另一个肿瘤则会生长。

复发：治疗后癌症已经返回。这可能会在治疗后的任何时间发生，但是如果您在成功治疗后多年经历了复发，您的护理团队可能希望调查这是相同的癌症恢复或全新的疾病。完成治疗后，参加检查很重要，以便您的肿瘤科医生可以监视可能的复发。

可切除/无法切除：是否可以通过手术去除实体瘤。如果癌症被认为是无法切除的，您的护理团队可能会建议化学疗法来缩小肿瘤，以便更容易通过手术去除肿瘤。

These are just a few terms you may hear throughout your cancer experience. “If you are ever confused about what your care team shares with you, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions,” Bisen says. “Ultimately, you have to trust your care team as your source of information.”

在线要求在MD Anderson举行约会或致电1-877-632-6789。