Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a red or scaly patch of skin. In those with distant spread of the disease, there may be bone pain, swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, or yellow skin.
Prostate cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Early prostate cancer causes no symptoms. Abnormal growth of prostate tissue is usually detected through screening tests, typically blood tests that check for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Those with high levels of PSA in their blood are at increased risk for developing prostate cancer. Diagnosis requires a biopsy of the prostate. If cancer is present, the pathologist assigns a Gleason score, and a higher score represents a more dangerous tumor. Medical imaging is performed to look for cancer that has spread outside the prostate. Based on the Gleason score, PSA levels, and imaging results, a cancer case is assigned a stage 1 to 4. A higher stage signifies a more advanced, more dangerous disease.
Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal or ectodermal germ layer during embryogenesis.
Penile cancer, or penile carcinoma, is a cancer that develops in the skin or tissues of the penis. Symptoms may include abnormal growth, an ulcer or sore on the skin of the penis, and bleeding or foul smelling discharge.
The TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors (TNM) is a globally recognised standard for classifying the anatomical extent of the spread of malignant tumours (cancer). It has gained wide international acceptance for many solid tumor cancers, but is not applicable to leukaemia or tumors of the central nervous system. Most common tumors have their own TNM classification. The TNM staging system is sometimes referred to as the AJCC/UICC staging system or the UICC/AJCC staging system.
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.
In medicine, Breslow's depth was used as a prognostic factor in melanoma of the skin. It is a description of how deeply tumor cells have invaded. Currently, the standard Breslow's depth has been replaced by the AJCC depth, in the AJCC staging system of melanoma. Originally, Breslow's depth was divided into 5 stages.
Cancer staging is the process of determining the extent to which a cancer has grown and spread. A number from I to IV is assigned, with I being an isolated cancer and IV being a cancer that has metastasized and spread from its origin. The stage generally takes into account the size of a tumor, whether it has invaded adjacent organs, how many regional (nearby) lymph nodes it has spread to, and whether it has appeared in more distant locations (metastasized).
Ann Arbor staging is the staging system for lymphomas, both in Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It was initially developed for Hodgkin's, but has some use in NHL. It has roughly the same function as TNM staging in solid tumors.
Invasive carcinoma of no special type, invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) or invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified (NOS) is a disease. For international audiences this article will use "invasive carcinoma NST" because it is the preferred term of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Gleason grading system is used to help evaluate the prognosis of men with prostate cancer using samples from a prostate biopsy. Together with other parameters, it is incorporated into a strategy of prostate cancer staging which predicts prognosis and helps guide therapy. A Gleason score is given to prostate cancer based upon its microscopic appearance.
Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer, representing 75 percent to 85 percent of all thyroid cancer cases. It occurs more frequently in women and presents in the 20–55 year age group. It is also the predominant cancer type in children with thyroid cancer, and in patients with thyroid cancer who have had previous radiation to the head and neck. It is often well-differentiated, slow-growing, and localized, although it can metastasize.
Cervical lymph nodes are lymph nodes found in the neck. Of the 800 lymph nodes in the human body, 300 are in the neck. Cervical lymph nodes are subject to a number of different pathological conditions including tumours, infection and inflammation.
Medullary breast carcinoma is a rare type of breast cancer that is characterized as a relatively circumscribed tumor with pushing, rather than infiltrating, margins. It is histologically characterized as poorly differentiated cells with abundant cytoplasm and pleomorphic high grade vesicular nuclei. It involves lymphocytic infiltration in and around the tumor and can appear to be brown in appearance with necrosis and hemorrhage. Prognosis is measured through staging but can often be treated successfully and has a better prognosis than other infiltrating breast carcinomas.
Lung cancer staging is the assessment of the extent to which a lung cancer has spread from its original source. As with most cancers, staging is an important determinant of treatment and prognosis. In general, more advanced stages of cancer are less amenable to treatment and have a worse prognosis.
Breast cancer classification divides breast cancer into categories according to different schemes criteria and serving a different purpose. The major categories are the histopathological type, the grade of the tumor, the stage of the tumor, and the expression of proteins and genes. As knowledge of cancer cell biology develops these classifications are updated.
Cervical cancer staging is the assessment of cervical cancer to determine the extent of the spread of cancer beyond the cervix. This is important for determining how serious the cancer is and to create the best treatment plan.
Colon cancer staging is an estimate of the amount of penetration of a particular cancer. It is performed for diagnostic and research purposes, and to determine the best method of treatment. The systems for staging colorectal cancers depend on the extent of local invasion, the degree of lymph node involvement and whether there is distant metastasis.
Carcinoma of the tonsil is a type of squamous cell carcinoma. The tonsil is the most common site of squamous cell carcinoma in the oropharynx. It comprises 23.1% of all malignancies of the oropharynx. The tumors frequently present at advanced stages, and around 70% of patients present with metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes. . The most reported complaints include sore throat, otalgia or dysphagia. Some patients may complain of feeling the presence of a lump in the throat. Approximately 20% patients present with a node in the neck as the only symptom.
Prognostic markers are biomarkers used to measure the progress of a disease in the patient sample. Prognostic markers are useful to stratify the patients into groups, guiding towards precise medicine discovery. The widely used prognostic markers in cancers include stage, size, grade, node and metastasis. In addition to these common markers, there are prognostic markers specific to different cancer types. For example estrogen level, progesterone and HER2 are markers specific to breast cancer patients. There is evidence showing that genes behaving as tumor suppressors or carcinogens could act as prognostic markers due to altered gene expression or mutation. Besides genetic biomarkers, there are also biomarkers that are detected in plasma or body fluid which can be metabolic or protein biomarkers.
