Common Terms

A

Ablation – Ablation therapy is a type of minimally invasive procedure doctors use to destroy tumor tissue.
Adjuvant Chemotherapy – Having chemo when you are NED
AI – Aromatase inhibitor is a drug that blocks estrogen from being made post menopause      
AIM – Chemo combination of Adriamycin/Ifosfamide/mesna. Adriamycin is now known as doxorubicin
Angiogenesis – Growth of new blood vessels. Anti-angiogenesis is prevention of growth of new blood vessels
Anti-PD-1 and PD-L1 – immune check point blockade inhibitors (immunotherapy)
Apoptosis – when damaged cells kill themselves

B


Biopsy – resecting a small bit of the tumor to be examined by the pathologist to determine if it is LMS.
BSO – Bilateral salpho-oopherectomy is surgical removal of both ovaries and tubes

C


Cancer Vaccine – Vaccine to prevent or eliminate cancer using the body’s own immune system (immunotherapy) 
CD47 – A cell protein which is expressed in most LMS tumors and many other cells in the body   
CR – Complete response or remission
CT scan – Computerized Tomography scan sometimes referred to as a CAT scan

D


DFCI – Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston
Differentiated – how much the cells look like healthy tissue vs. cancer.  Poorly differentiated cells have lost their original characteristics and are more mutated.
Dx – Diagnosis made by the pathologist.

E


Er/Pr – Estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor.  If the tumor has these receptors then it is hormone sensitive leading to tumor growth.

G


Gem/Tax – Chemo combination of Gemcitabine and Taxotere.
Genomic testing – looks broadly for gene alterations, or harmful changes, anywhere in the genetic code. 
Grade – Grading refers to the appearance of cancer cells under a microscope. The more abnormal the higher the grade and faster growth.

H


Hospice – Care is for people who are nearing the end of life. The services are provided by a team of health care professionals who maximize comfort for a person who is terminally ill by reducing pain and addressing physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs.

I

Immunotherapy – Using your own body’s immune system to recognize and kill your cancer cells.
IVC – Inferior vena cava is a large vein that carries the deoxygenated blood from the lower and middle body into the right atrium of the heart.

L


Laparoscopic – A surgery using a slender tool that has a tiny video camera and light on the end. When a surgeon inserts it through a small cut and into your body, they can look at a video monitor and see what’s happening inside you.
Limb salvage surgery – Surgery to remove a tumor in an arm or leg without removing the whole limb.
LMS – Short for the big word – Leiomyosarcoma
Local recurrence – tumor grows back at the primary site where it began.

M


Macrophage – An immune system cell that can destroy/remove foreign molecules in the body (good) or stimulate tumor growth (bad)
Margins – destroying the surrounding healthy tissue which may have microscopic LMS cells around the tumor to prevent regrowth.  For LMS the ideal clear margin is 2 cm. Without clear margins there is risk of the tumor growing back.
MDA – MD Anderson Cancer Center in Huston, TX
MET – Short for metastasis (a tumor found outside the original site)
MI – Mitotic index. Shows the rate of growth by measuring the amount of cells dividing.
Morcellation –  The cutting or shredding of the uterus during hysterectomy
MSKCC – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York)

N


NCCN – National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Guidelines are widely recognized and used as the standard for clinical policy in oncology by clinicans.
Necrosis – tissue death
NED – No Evidence of Disease. Refers to whether or not any tumors were found on your CT scan. You can still have cancer cells, but they are not large enough to be found on your scans.

O

Onc – Oncologist  
OS – Overall Survival

P


p53 Gene – an important gene which controls damaged in cells and destroys them.
Palliative care – specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
Paraffin tissue block – a small slice of tumor embedded in wax to preserve it for future testing.
PD – Progressive disease
PET scan – Positron emission tomography. A procedure similar to CT scan but using a small amount of glucose (sugar) injected into the vein. Because cancer cells often use more glucose than normal cells, the pictures in a PET scan can be used to.
Primary site – where the first mutated cell and tumor began to grow.
PTA – Percutaneous Thermal Ablation. A minimally invasive procedure injecting heat, cold or chemo directly into the tumor to destroy it.

R


Recurrence – The cancer coming back to the same place as the original (primary) tumor or to another place in the body.
RFA – Radio Frequency Ablation. A procedure injecting radiation directly into the tumor.
RLMS – Retroperitonel LMS

S


Sarcoma – Cancers of the connective tissues: bone, muscle, fat, ligament. These are either bone or soft tissue.  LMS is a soft tissue sarcoma.  There are over 60 different types, all not related to each other genetically.

SBRT - stereotactic body radiotherapy. Highly targeted external radiation. Also called cyberknife.
Smooth muscles – the involuntary muscles such as blood vessels, uterus and peritoneum.  LMS is a cancer of the smooth muscles which are soft tissue sarcomas
Stage I, II, and III describes the initial tumor size and depth. The bigger, deeper and more mutated the higher the grade.
Stage IV – means there is a distant metastasis to another site in the body and prognosis is worst.
STS – Soft tissue sarcoma versus sarcoma of the bone

T


TAH – Total abdominal hysterectomy, removal of uterus and cervix through the abdomin.

U


ULMS – Uterine Leiomyosarcoma

V


VATS – Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery
VEGF – Vascular endothelial growth factor which is commonly expressed in LMS cells

Also see:

NCI – National Cancer Institute’s Dictionary of Cancer Terms