Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain or pain during sexual intercourse. While bleeding after sex may not be serious, it may also indicate the presence of cervical cancer.
Adenocarcinoma is a type of cancerous tumor that can occur in several parts of the body. It is defined as neoplasia of epithelial tissue that has glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or both. Adenocarcinomas are part of the larger grouping of carcinomas, but are also sometimes called by more precise terms omitting the word, where these exist. Thus invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer, is adenocarcinoma but does not use the term in its name—however, esophageal adenocarcinoma does to distinguish it from the other common type of esophageal cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Several of the most common forms of cancer are adenocarcinomas, and the various sorts of adenocarcinoma vary greatly in all their aspects, so that few useful generalizations can be made about them.
Anal cancer is a cancer which arises from the anus, the distal opening of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms may include bleeding from the anus or a lump near the anus. Other symptoms may include pain, itchiness, or discharge from the anus. A change in bowel movements may also occur.
This is a list of terms related to oncology. The original source for this list was the US National Cancer Institute's public domain Dictionary of Cancer Terms.
A precancerous condition is a condition, tumor or lesion involving abnormal cells which are associated with an increased risk of developing into cancer. Clinically, precancerous conditions encompass a variety of abnormal tissues with an increased risk of developing into cancer. Some of the most common precancerous conditions include certain colon polyps, which can progress into colon cancer, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, which can progress into multiple myeloma or myelodysplastic syndrome. and cervical dysplasia, which can progress into cervical cancer. Bronchial premalignant lesions can progress to squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.
The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) is a domain-specific extension of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems for tumor diseases. This classification is widely used by cancer registries.
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), also known as cervical dysplasia, is the abnormal growth of cells on the surface of the cervix that could potentially lead to cervical cancer. More specifically, CIN refers to the potentially precancerous transformation of cells of the cervix.
A koilocyte is a squamous epithelial cell that has undergone a number of structural changes, which occur as a result of infection of the cell by human papillomavirus (HPV). Identification of these cells by pathologists can be useful in diagnosing various HPV-associated lesions.
The Cartwright Inquiry was a committee of inquiry held in New Zealand from 1987 to 1988 that was commissioned by the Minister of Health, Michael Bassett, to investigate whether, as alleged in an article in Metro magazine, there had been a failure to treat patients adequately with cervical carcinoma in situ (CIS) at National Women’s Hospital (NWH) by Herbert Green, a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist and associate professor at the Postgraduate School of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland. The inquiry was headed by District Court Judge Silvia Cartwright, later High Court Justice, Dame and Governor-General of New Zealand. The Report of the Cervical Cancer Inquiry was released on 5 August 1988.
Vulvar cancer is a cancer of the vulva, the outer portion of the female genitals. It most commonly affects the labia majora. Less often, the labia minora, clitoris, or Bartholin's glands are affected. Symptoms include a lump, itchiness, changes in the skin, or bleeding from the vulva.
Vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) refers to particular changes that can occur in the skin that covers the vulva. VIN is an intraepithelial neoplasia, and can disappear without treatment. VINs are benign but if the changes become more severe, there is a chance of cancer developing after many years, and so it is referred to as a precancerous condition.
Keratin, type II cytoskeletal 8 also known as cytokeratin-8 (CK-8) or keratin-8 (K8) is a keratin protein that is encoded in humans by the KRT8 gene. It is often paired with keratin 18.
Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is an incidental microscopic finding with characteristic cellular morphology and multifocal tissue patterns. The condition is a laboratory diagnosis and refers to unusual cells in the lobules of the breast. The lobules and acini of the terminal duct-lobular unit (TDLU), the basic functional unit of the breast, may become distorted and undergo expansion due to the abnormal proliferation of cells comprising the structure. These changes represent a spectrum of atypical epithelial lesions that are broadly referred to as lobular neoplasia (LN).
The Bethesda system (TBS), officially called The Bethesda System for Reporting Cervical Cytology, is a system for reporting cervical or vaginal cytologic diagnoses, used for reporting Pap smear results. It was introduced in 1988 and revised in 1991, 2001, and 2014. The name comes from the location of the conference, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, that established the system.
Epithelial dysplasia, a term becoming increasingly referred to as intraepithelial neoplasia, is the sum of various disturbances of epithelial proliferation and differentiation as seen microscopically. Individual cellular features of dysplasia are called epithelial atypia.
Conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma and corneal intraepithelial neoplasia comprise ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN). SCC is the most common malignancy of the conjunctiva in the US, with a yearly incidence of 1–2.8 per 100,000. Risk factors for the disease are exposure to sun, exposure to UVB, and light-colored skin. Other risk factors include radiation, smoking, HPV, arsenic, and exposure to polycyclic hydrocarbons.
Gastrointestinal intraepithelial neoplasia is also known as gastrointestinal dysplasia. Gastrointestinal dysplasia refers to abnormal growth of the epithelial tissue lining the gastrointestinal tract including the esophagus, stomach, and colon. Pancreatic, biliary, and rectal Intraepithelial Neoplasia are discussed separately. The regions of abnormal growth are confined by the basement membrane adjacent to the epithelial tissue and are thought to represent pre-cancerous lesions.
Squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC), also known as epidermoid carcinoma, comprises a number of different types of cancer that begin in squamous cells. These cells form on the surface of the skin, on the lining of hollow organs in the body, and on the lining of the respiratory and digestive tracts.
Vulvar tumors are those neoplasms of the vulva. Vulvar and vaginal neoplasms make up a small percentage (3%) of female genital cancers. They can be benign or malignant. Vulvar neoplasms are divided into cystic or solid lesions and other mixed types. Vulvar cancers are those malignant neoplasms that originate from vulvar epithelium, while vulvar sarcomas develop from non-epithelial cells such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Epithelial and mesenchymal tissue are the origin of vulvar tumors.
