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Glossary of Terms

P - R

P

Palliative: Treatment that is designed to relieve symptoms rather than cure disease.

Partial remission: also called partial response. The term used when a tumour has decreased in size by half or more, but has not been completely eliminated. The cancer is still detectable and more treatment may be necessary.

Pathologist: A doctor who specializes in identifying diseases by examining and studying cells under a microscope.

Pediatric: Relating to children, childhood.

Peer support: Structured relationship in which people meet in order to provide or exchange emotional support with others facing similar challenges.

Performance status: A term describing how well a patient is able to perform daily tasks and activities.

Peripheral blood: Blood circulating in the blood vessels and heart as opposed to the bone marrow.

Peripheral blood stem-cell transplant (PBSCT): A procedure similar to a bone marrow transplant. Healthy stem cells are harvested from the bloodstream of a donor (allogeneic transplant) or from the patient themselves (autologous transplant). The patient then receives high-dose chemotherapy and/or radiation to obliterate the cancerous cells, after which time the harvested stem cells are re-infused into the patient’s body to repopulate the immune system.

Peripheral neuropathy: Altered nerve sensations in the hands and feet, including numbness, tingling and weakness as a result of nerve damage. Some medications can cause nerve damage leading to peripheral neuropathy.

PET scan (positron emission tomography): A way to visualize cancer in the body. Radioactive glucose (a sugar molecule used as the energy source for cells) is injected into the patient and is taken up preferentially by cells with a high metabolic activity, such as cancer cells. A scanner is then used to visualize the areas of the body where the radioactive glucose is concentrated.

Planning: A session with technicians, nurses and oncologists to simulate radiation treatment.

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood, lymph, and intracellular fluid in which cells are suspended.

Plasma cell: A mature B-cell. The main function of plasma cells is antibody production. Thus, they play an important role in the defence against infection and disease.

Platelet: A blood cell that helps to control bleeding by inducing clotting. Also called a thrombocyte.

Pleural effusion: A collection of fluid inside the chest cavity around the lungs.

PO (per os): By mouth, orally.

Poorly-differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma: The old Rappaport classification for the form of NHL now known as follicular centre cell lymphoma with a large component of small-cleaved cells.

Port: Asmall plastic or metal container surgically placed under the skin and attached to a central venous catheter inside the body. Blood and fluids can enter or leave the body through the port using a special needle.

Primary therapy: The first treatment given after a patient is diagnosed with cancer.

Primary tumour: Tumour at the original cancer site.

Prognosis: The prediction of how a patient/cancer will progress after diagnosis. Prognosis refers to the outcome of the cancer and the likelihood of recovery.

Protocol: Medical treatment plan.

Pruritus: Itching (sometimes an unofficial B symptom of Hodgkin’s lymphoma).

Psoralen: A drug that is part of a therapy called PUVA, used for a type of NHL called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Also called photochemotherapy, PUVA consists of psoralen plus ultraviolet A (UVA) light. Psoralen makes the skin more sensitive to the healing effects of the UVA light.

Pulminary angiocentric B-cell lymphoma: Formerly called lymphomatoid granulomatosis, it is a condition that when malignant is treated with doxorubicin (Adriamycin)-based combination chemotherapy and is treated like DLBCL.

Purging: In cancer treatment purging refers to the removal of cancer or T-cells in bone marrow or stem cells prior to bone marrow transplant or peripheral blood stem-cell transplant.

Q

R

Radiation field: The part of the body that receives radiation therapy.

Radiation oncologist: A type of oncologist (cancer specialist) specializing in treating cancer with radiation therapy.

Radiation therapy: A type of therapy where high-dose radiation beams (x-rays) are carefully focused on a tumour site. Exposure to the x-ray beams kills the cancer cell.

Radioimmunotherapy: A cancer therapy involving the combination of a monoclonal antibody with a radionuclide, as a source of radiation. When a monoclonal antibody is combined with a radionuclide, it is said to be radiolabelled. The radiolabelled antibody targets and binds to a specific antigen present on cancer cells, delivering a lethal dose of radiation directly to targeted cells.

Radionuclide: An atom that gives off or emits energy in the form of radiation.

Randomized controlled trial: A clinical trial that involves the testing of an experimental drug treatment in comparison with a control treatment.

Recurrence: The return of cancer after a period of being diagnosed cancer-free (in remission).

Red blood cell (RBC): Blood cell that carries oxygen to the cells of the body and removes carbon dioxide.

Red blood cell count: Measurement of the number of red blood cells in a sample of blood.

Reed-Sternberg cell: A type of cell found in Hodgkin’s lymphoma but not in NHL.

Refractory: Not yielding (at least not yielding readily) to treatment.

Refractory disease: A cancer that does not respond to treatment.

Regimen: The administration of a specific combination and dose of cancer medications following an arranged schedule.

Regression: Reduction in symptoms or disease process.

Relapse: The return of cancer after a period of improvement. NHL may recur in the same area as the original tumour or it may relapse in another body area.

Remission: A patient is said to be in remission if the tumour has diminished by half or more (partial remission) or is undetectable (complete remission). Remission does not necessarily imply that the cancer has been cured. If a certain cancer, for example an aggressive lymphoma, remains in remission for a certain period of time, usually five or more years, it may be considered cured. However, indolent lymphomas are not commonly considered cured because the cancer can relapse even after a long period of remission.

Rituxan^® (generic name rituximab, UK trade name MabThera): The monoclonal antibody drug that received Health Canada’s approval for low-grade NHL.

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