Glossary

Accelerator (or linear particle accelerator)
A modern radiotherapy device enabling particles (photons, electrons) with variable energy to be released.

Adjuvant
A word used for additional treatment given after the main treatment. For example, chemotherapy or radiotherapy following breast surgery.

Alopecia
Temporary loss of hair on your head and/or eyebrows and lashes. Chemotherapy and head radiation therapy can cause alopecia.

Anaemia
This describes the reduction in the number of red blood cells or the reduction in the quantity of haemoglobin contained in a unit of blood. It is defined as being a quantity lower than 13g of haemoglobin per decilitre of blood in men and 12g/dL in women. It can result from several causes: pregnancy, lack of iron, inflamation, cancer, and chemotherapy, among others.

Anatomo-cytopathology or anatomo-cytopathological examination
Microscopic examination of cell and tissue samples taken from the patient. Results are decisive in diagnosing the cancer and ascertaining the choice of treatments during the multidisciplinary team meetings. The professional who carries out this examination is called an anatomo-cytopathologist.

Anciliary care
All the treatments and support necessary for ill people in parallel to specific treatments administered to fight the illness. This type of care is not intended to cure the illness but rather treat the symptoms, alleviate the mental and/or psychological consequences of the illness and treatments: pain, insufficient nourishment, and especially emotional distress. Anciliary care mobilises different health specialists: pain management specialists, psychologists, nutritionists, social welfare assistants, etc.

Benign tumour
This tumour evolves spontaneously but only very locally; it does not lead to the death of the person, apart from in cases where mechanical complications arise, such as in the brain, or metabolic tumours, such as endocrinal tumours. A benign tumour never gives rise to metastases.

Biopsy
A small sample of tissue is taken for examination under a microscope in order to make a certain diagnosis. The doctor may carry out a biopsy with or without anaesthetic (local or general). Techniques used to take the sample (surgery, puncturing, etc.) depend on the location of the tumour and the type of tissue to be analysed.

Cancer
An illness characterised by abnormal cell division in the body’s normal tissue.

Cancer in situ
The Latin expression in situ (“on the site”) is used to talk about a cancer tumour whose cells remain in the tissue in which they developed.

Carcinogenesis
Stages in the transformation of a normal cell into a cancerous cell.

Chemotherapy
Treatment that acts on the whole body (general or systemic treatment) using toxic drugs to act on cancer cells. These drugs destroy the cells or prevent them from multiplying. Chemotherapy drugs can be administered by injection, perfusion and sometimes in tablet form.

Conformal radiotherapy or 3D radiotherapy (3DCRT)
This radiotherapy technique has made great progress since the beginning of the 1990s. Thanks to cross-sectional scanner imaging and by taking into account a margin of safety, the radiotherapist obtains a 3-D model of the volume to be irradiated. These data enable the form to be established that the radiation beam will take and so be more precise in targeting the tissue to be treated. At the moment this technique is mainly used to treat certain brain tumours, cancers of the prostate and upper airway and digestive tract but its use is becoming more widespread.

Conservative surgery
An operation that only removes the turmour and conserves the organ in which the cancer has developed. For example, a lumpectomy rather than mastectomy in breast cancer: this type of surgery is done as often as possible as it is far less aggressive.

Curietherapy
Sometimes called brachytherapy, is a very localised radiotherapy treatment the aim of which is to destroy cancer cells using rays produced by radioactive substances introduced inside the organ to be treated (prostate, uterus, etc.)

Dosimetric study
An individualised computer study of the distribution of radiation dose over the area to be treated by radiotherapy.

Dosimetrist
A technician working in medical physics who participates with the radio-physicist in drawing up the dosimetry, in other words the detailed plan, of the radiotherapy treatment.

Endoscopy
A procedure that examines a body cavity using an endoscope. Endoscopy enables the inside of the body to be observed (bladder, lungs, colon, stomach, bronchial tubes, etc.), to look for any anomalies and it also enables certain surgical operations to be carried out.

Excision
A surgical operation that consists in removing part of an organ or an entire organ.

Genetic predisposition or genetic susceptibility
Abnormal genes existing in an individual that increase the risk of developing cancer.

Gray
A unit to measure radiation dose absorbed by the organs.

Hereditary predisposition, family cancer syndrome or genetic predisposition
When there is a recurrence of a rare cancer within the same family or more common cancers (breast, colorectal, ect.) appear in several people over several generations of the same family, this is referred to as hereditary predisposition. Sometimes this can be explained by the presence of a defective or mutated gene within the family’s genetic makeup that leads in numerous cases to cancer. Sometimes this causes illnesses other than the appearance of cancer which can very often become more complicated should cancer occur.

Hormone therapy
A general treatment that, in the case of cancer, consists in reducing or inhibiting the activity or production of a hormone that may stimulate the growth of a cancerous tumour. For example, in certain breast and prostrate cancers.

Immunotherapy
Treatment that stimulates the body’s immune system to fight against cancer cells.

Implanted chamber (“port-a-cath”)
A small box, sometimes called a port, implanted under the skin and linked to a deep vein: it enables drugs, especially those used in chemotherapy, to be infused

Invasive cancer
We talk about invasive or infiltrating cancer when cancer cells have spread to surrounding layers of otherwise healthy tissue

Ionising radiation
Ionising radiation comes from rays that have sufficiently high energy to free electrons from atoms and by doing so ionises them. The rays are natural in origin (domestic radon for example) or arise from human activitiy (nuclear or X-rays for example). These rays, waves or particles are especially emitted during the transformation of atomic cores (radioactivity). Generally speaking they are dangerous but they also have beneficial uses.

Lesion
Alteration of a cell, tissue or organ due to traumatism or illness. A lesion modifies the normal appearance or function of the cell, tissue or organ affected.

Leukemia
Cancer of the blood cells or lymph (the clear liquid produced by the body which carries cells).

Lymph node
Structure in the lymphatic system that plays a role both as a filter and a barrier in the immune system enabling the organism to fight infections and tumours.

Lymphatic system
All the vessels and nodes through which lymph (or lymphatic fluid) circulates and which drain away bacteria and damaged cells from body tissues.

Lymphoma
Term describing different kinds of cancers affecting the lymphocytes (type of immune cell). Contrary to leukemia, the cancer cells do not spread to the blood circulation but instead attack the lymph nodes. One kind is Hodgkin lymphoma and there are some twenty or so forms of non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Malignant tumour
A tumour made up of cancer cells.

Medical oncologist
A doctor who specialises in medical cancer treatments, essentially chemotherapy, but also hormone therapy, immunotherapy and other non-surgical and non-radiation care.

Metastases
Cancer cells that have spread from the original primary tumour and give rise to a secondary, metastatic tumour.

Multidisciplinary Team Meeting (RCP in French)
Meeting between health specialists during which they discuss treatments proposed to a patient, assess the patient’s quality of life resulting from these treatments and analyse the benefits and risks incurred. These meetings generally include a surgeon, an oncologist, a haematologist, a pathologist and a radiotherapist. A treatment plan is drawn up during these meetings and is then explained to the patient.

Myeloma
Cancer characterised by a malignant proliferation of plasmocytes (a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies) in the bone marrow.

Neoadjuvant
Refers to a treatment given prior to the main treatment. For example, radiotherapy which diminishes the size of a tumour before surgery.

Oncogene
A gene whose presence and function in a cell contributes to its malignant mutation.

Oncologist
A doctor who specialises in treating cancer with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Oncologist radiotherapist
A doctor who specialises in the treatment of cancer not only using radiation, in radiotherapy and Curietherapy, but also using drug therapy for cancer treatments.

Outpatient
A type of hospitalisation that enables the patient to leave the health establishment a few hours after the operation or treatment, without being admitted for an overnight stay.

Palliative care
All the treatments and support that accompany the ill person and best preserve his/her quality of life. In France, there are palliative care units (USP in French), places where the necessary treatments are given with an emphasis on comfort and the overall patient experience.

Personal treatment programme (in French PPS)
In cancer treatment, this is the description of the therapy strategy proposed to a patient for his/her approval after diagnosis and discussion by all the health specialists involved. It gives details of the treatment(s) to be carried out, anticipated duration, place and time at which the treatment(s) should be given. This proposal is given to the patient during the special consultation that takes place to announce the diagnosis. It can be adapted or stopped according to the patient’s tolerance to the treatments and their efficacy, and in relation to how the illness develops.

PET Scan
Positron Emission Tomography in a scanner. This is a medical imaging technique used by doctors specialised in nuclear medicine and which enables the metabolic activity of an organ to be measured thanks to the emissions produced by the positrons (or positions) occuring from the disintegration of a radiotracer, a previously injected radioactive product. This examination is part of the investigation into the presence of certain cancers and, in some cases, gives a map of the primary illness; it enables the development of the illness under treatment to be assessed and to look for recurrent cancers.

Platelets
Platelets are a component of blood and play an essential role in coagulation.

Precancerous lesion
Alteration of tissue or an organ due to traumatism or illness which contains abnormal cells that may one day give rise to a cancer cell.

Protocol
This is the collection of guidelines covering examinations or procedures for the treatment of a given type of cancer. It develops as scientific progress is made.

Radiophysicist
A physicist specialised in ionising radiation. Any Radiotherapy department must necessarily include one or several radiophysicists. This person is responsible for the correct operation of the devices, measures the ionising radiation and works in close collaboration with the radiotherapist with regards to the dosimetric study.

Radiotherapy or radiation therapy
The localised treatment of cancer using a device that emits rays. These rays are directed onto the tumour and then destroy it. They can be emitted by an internal or external source. This treatment is carried out in the specialised radiotherapy department. It is also referred to as a ray or radiation session.

Radiotherapy technician
Nursing staff caring for the patient on a daily basis and carrying out radiotherapy treatments.

Recurrence or relapse
Return of cancer cells at the same place or in a different area of the body. Recurrence can occur very soon after the end of the treatment, but also after a long period of remission.

Remission
The apparent disappearances of any signs and symptoms of the illness.

Screening
Routine testing for signs of what might be cancer in an apparently healthy person with no symptoms of illness. Additional examinations may be necessary if screening reveals any abnormal results.

Simulation
A stage in the preparation of radiotherapy that enables the position of the treatment to be precisely identified and technical and anatomical data to be obtained.

Stereotactic radiotherapy
This is a very high precision technique, used in France since the end of the 1980s, to treat intracranial lesions and is currently also applied to extra-cranial sites. A high dose of low volume rays are aimed at the tumour with classic radiotherapy accelarators or with special robotic machines, like the Gamma Knife or CyberKnife.

Surgery
A procedure to operate on a patient. The aim of this operation can be either to take a sample of some abnormal cells to analyse them (biopsy) or to remove the tumour (treatment).

Targeted therapy
A therapeutic approach that consists in using new drugs to identify and target receptors or altered cell signals in order to block their action. These therapies have the advantage of only attacking tumour cells that carry the anomaly and sparing normal cells so it therefore has fewer side effects and, at the same time, it is highly effective.

Tissue
An ensemble of similar cells which have the same function in the organism (skin tissue for example).

Tomography by Positron Emission (PET Scan)
An examination that enables precise images of the body to obtained in fine cross-sections thanks to a low radioactive tracer. The tracer is a radioactive product that, when injected in the blood, can be seen in the patient’s organism. These images are reconstituted in three dimensions on a computer screen.

Tumour
A mass of tissue associated with the abnormal division of cells. There are benign and malignant tumours.

Tumour market or biomarker
In oncology, this is a substance associated with the development of a given cancer that can be measured during analysis of blood or urine, for example.

X-Rays
Invisible rays that are more or less stopped according to the different components of the body that they traverse. Rays that can traverse are detected and display images of inside the body. X-rays are also called X-ray photons.