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Skeletal Wellness Institute - Skeletal illness terms Category: Health and Medicine > Skeletal illness terms Date & country: 14/01/2011, USA Words: 97

Ablation
In medicine, the removal or destruction of a body part or tissue or its function. Ablation may be performed by surgery, hormones, drugs, radiofrequency, heat, or other methods.

Adjunct
In cancer therapy, a drug or substance used in addition to the primary therapy.

Adjuvant therapy
Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, or biologic therapy.

Analgesic
A drug that reduces pain. Analgesics include aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.

Androgen
A type of hormone that promotes the development and maintenance of male sex characteristics.

Androgen ablation
Treatment to suppress or block the production of male hormones. Androgen suppression is achieved by surgical removal of the testicles, by taking female sex hormones, or by taking other drugs (antiandrogens). Also called androgen suppression.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)
Hormone therapy to lower levels of the male hormones (androgens) in the body.

Antiandrogen
Any substance capable of inhibiting the biologic effects of androgen.

Aromatase
An enzyme that helps convert the male hormone testosterone to the aromatic compound estradiol, a female hormone.

Aromatase inhibitor
A drug that interferes with aromatase to prevent the conversion of the male hormone testosterone to the female hormone estradiol. Aromatase inhibitors are used as a type of hormone therapy for postmenopausal women who have hormone-dependent breast cancer.

Autophosphorylation
Addition of a phosphate to a protein kinase (possibly affecting its activity) by virtue of its own enzymatic activity.

Bisphosphonate
A type of drug used to treat osteoporosis and the bone pain caused by some types of cancer.

Bone mineral density (BMD)
A measure of bone strength.

Bone scan
A technique to create images of bones on a computer screen or on film. A small amount of radioactive material is injected into a blood vessel and travels through the bloodstream; it collects in the bones and is detected by a scanner.

Capillaries
Extremely small blood vessels.

Chemotherapy
Treatment with anticancer drugs.

Computed tomography (CT)
A series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body taken from different angles; the pictures are created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. Also called computerized tomography (CT) and computerized axial tomography (CAT).

Cytokines
Nonantibody proteins released by a group of cells when stimulated by a specific antigen, which act as intercellular mediators.

Cytotoxic therapy
A treatment that may be destructive to certain cells.

DEXA
Dual x-ray absorptiometry; a 2-dimensional measure of bone density.

Estrogen
A hormone that promotes the development and maintenance of female sex characteristics.

Etiology
The causes or origins of disease.

Femoral neck
Portion of the femur between the femoral head (by the hip) and the shaft of the femur.

Femur
The long bone at the upper part of the leg, extending from the hip to the knee.

Glucocorticoid
A compound that belongs to the family of compounds called corticosteroids (steroids). Glucocorticoids affect metabolism and have anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. They may be naturally produced (hormones) or synthetic (drugs).

GnRH agonist
A pharmacologic agent that promotes gonadotropin-releasing hormone activity.

Gonadal
From gonad, which is part of the reproductive system that produces and releases eggs (ovary) or sperm (testicle/testis).

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone
Any hypothalamic factor that stimulates release of both follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone.

Growth hormone
A hormone that affects metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids and controls the rate of skeletal and visceral growth.

Gut
All of part of the alimentary canal, especially the intestines; the belly or stomach.

Hematopoietic
Related to the formation and development of blood cells.

Homeostasis
The tendency of an organism toward stability in the normal body states.

Hormone refractory
In oncology, this term describes cancer that does not respond to hormone treatment. Also known as hormone resistant.

Hormone responsive
In oncology, this term describes cancer that responds to hormone treatment.

Hormone therapy
Treatment that adds, blocks, or removes hormones. For certain conditions (such as diabetes or menopause), hormones are given to adjust low hormone levels. To slow or stop the growth of certain cancers (such as prostate and breast cancer), synthetic hormones or other drugs may be given to block the body's natural hormones. Sometimes surgery is needed to remove the gland that makes hormones. Also c...

Humorally
Refers to that which is dissolved in blood and other body fluids.

Hypercalcemia of malignancy
Abnormally high blood calcium levels, resulting from cancer.

Hypertonia
The excessive tone of skeletal muscles and the muscles' resistance to stretching.

Hypogonadism
A condition resulting from or characterized by abnormally decreased functional activity of the gonads.

Incidence
The number of newly diagnosed cases during a specific time period.

Infusion
A method of putting fluids, including drugs, into the bloodstream. Also called intravenous infusion.

Insulin-related growth factor
A growth-hormone-dependent mediator of cell growth with insulinlike actions.

Interleukin-1
A cytokine that mediates the body's inflammatory response.

Interleukins
Multifunctional cytokines whose effects are at least partly within the lymphopoietic system.

Lesion
An area of abnormal tissue. A lesion may be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

LHRH agonist
A pharmacologic agent that promotes luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone activity.

Lumbar spine
A part of the back between the chest and the pelvis.

Lytic
Pertaining to lysis, destruction of cells. In biology, lysis refers to the disintegration of a cell by disruption of its plasma membrane. Also pertains to destruction of an area of bone due to a disease process, such as cancer.

Lytic lesion
Destruction of an area of bone due to a disease process, such as cancer.

Magnetiresonance imaging (MRI)
A procedure in which radio waves and a powerful magnet linked to a computer are used to create detailed pictures of areas inside the body. These pictures can show the difference between normal and diseased tissue. MRI makes better images of organs and soft tissue than do other scanning techniques, such as CT or x-ray. It is especially useful for imaging the brain, spine, the soft tissue of joints,...

Malignant
Cancerous. Malignant tumors can invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.

Median survival time
The time from either diagnosis or treatment at which half of the patients with a given disease are found to be, or expected to be, still alive. In a clinical trial, median survival time is one way to measure how effective a treatment is.

Metastasis
The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. A tumor formed by cells that have spread is called a "metastatic tumor" or a "metastasis." The metastatic tumor contains cells that are like those in the original (primary) tumor.

Metastatic
Having to do with metastasis, which is the spread of cancer from one part of the body to another.

MGUS
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, showing an M-protein in the serum without symptoms or findings of multiple myeloma, macroglobulinemia, amyloidosis, or lymphoma and with fewer than 10% plasma cells in the bone marrow.

Morbidity
A disease or the incidence of disease within a population. Morbidity also refers to adverse effects caused by a treatment.

Multiple event analysis
Andersen-Gill multiple event analysis considers all skeletal-related events and the time between events to provide a hazard ratio that expresses the risk of an event developing (Source Rosen LS. Cancer. 2003;981735-1744).

Neoplasm
Any new abnormal growth of cells that is uncontrolled and progressive.

Oophorectomy
Removal of an ovary or ovaries (bilateral); also called ovariectomy.

Orchiectomy
Excision of one or both testes; if both, also called castration.

Osteoblast
A cell that forms bone in the bone remodeling process.

Osteoclast
A cell that resorbs bone into the body in the bone remodeling process.

Osteoclastogenesis
Formation of osteoclasts (bones cells)

Osteolysis
Destruction of bone.

Osteolytic lesion
Destruction of bone due to a disease process, usually cancer.

Osteopenia
Reduced bone mass due to a decrease in the rate of osteoid (bone) synthesis or production to a level insufficient to compensate for normal bone lysis (destruction). The term is also used to refer to any decrease in bone mass below normal. (Osteopenia T-score = -1 to -2.5)

Osteoporosis
A condition that is characterized by a decrease in bone mass and density, causing bones to become fragile and at risk of fracture. (Osteoporosis T-score = ≤-2.5)

P value
A statistics term. A measure of probability that a difference between groups during an experiment happened by chance. For example, a P value of .01 (P=.01) means there is a 1 in 100 chance that the result of an experiment occurred by chance. The lower the P value, the more likely it is that the difference between groups was caused by treatment and not by chance.

Palliative care
Care given to improve the quality of life of patients who have a serious or life-threatening disease. The goal of palliative care is to prevent or treat as early as possible the symptoms of the disease, side effects caused by treatment of the disease, and psychological, social, and spiritual problems related to the disease or its treatment. Also called comfort care, supportive care, and symptom ma...

Panocytopenia
Deficiency of all elements of the blood.

Parathyroid hormone
A polypeptide hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands. It activates osteoclasts and inhibits osteoblasts.

Pathologic fracture
A broken bone caused by disease, often by the spread of cancer to the bone.

Placebo
An inactive substance or treatment that looks the same as, and is given the same way as, an active drug or treatment being tested. The effects of the active drug or treatment are compared to the effects of the placebo.

Plain radiograph
Plain x-ray film. Image produced by x-ray imaging.

Prenylation
The covalent addition of prenyl and multiprenyl residues to a macromolecule.

Prevalence
Reflects the number of patients with a certain disease in a population at a given time.

Primary endpoint
The main result that is measured at the end of a study to see if a given treatment worked (eg, the number of deaths or the difference in survival between the treatment group and the control group). What the primary endpoint will be is decided before the study begins.

Randomize
Randomization. When referring to an experiment or clinical trial, the process by which animal or human subjects are assigned by chance to separate groups that compare different treatments or other interventions. Randomization gives each participant an equal chance of being assigned to any of the groups.

Resorption
A process by which a substance in the body, such as bone tissue, is lost by being destroyed and then absorbed by the body.

Retrospective study
A study that compares two groups of people those with the disease or condition under study (cases) and a very similar group of people who do not have the disease or condition (controls). Researchers study the medical and lifestyle histories of the people in each group to learn what factors may be associated with the disease or condition. For example, one group may have been exposed to a particular...

Side chain
A group of atoms attached to another chain or ring of atoms. It also can be a group of radicals in a chemical compound.

Skeletal complications
Events, including pathologic fracture and spinal cord compression, that require interventions such as radiation to bone or surgery to bone. Sometimes hypocalcemia of malignancy is included. Also called skeletal-related events.

Skeletal morbidity period rate
Number of 12-week periods with new skeletal complications (vertebral and nonvertebral fractures, bone radiotherapy, or bone surgery), divided by the number of periods on the study. (Source Tripathy D et al. Annals Oncol. 2004;15743-750, p744).

Skeletal wellness
An integrated approach to recognize the impact of cancer and cancer treatment on bone health and to adopt methods to treat and prevent bone complications so as to optimize quality of life.

Skeletal-related events (SREs)
Events, including pathologic fracture and spinal cord compression, that require interventions such as radiation to bone or surgery to bone. Sometimes hypocalcemia of malignancy is included. Also called skeletal complications.

Statistical significance
A mathematical measure of the difference between groups. The difference is said to be statistically significant if it is greater than what might be expected to happen by chance alone. (See P value)

Stromal
From stroma, which is the connective tissue forming the framework or matrix of an organ.

Supportive care
See palliative care.

Surrogate marker
An entity, test, or measure used to substitute for another measure, for example, biochemical bone markers as a surrogate marker of bone loss or formation.

T-score
Bone mineral density (BMD) measurement is commonly reported in terms of a T-score, which is measured against the bone mineral density of a reference population of young healthy adult women. The T-score is also used to define osteoporosis and osteopenia.

Tetany
Hyperexcitability of nerves and muscles caused by a decrease in the concentration of extracellular calcium.

therapy
The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, implant radiation, or brachytherapy). Systemic radiation therapy uses a radioacti...

Transforming growth factor
Proteins secreted by transformed cells that can stimulate growth of normal cells.

Tumor necrosis factor
A cytokine that can cause hemorrhagic death of certain tumor cells in vivo and in vitro but that does not affect normal cells.

Uncoupled and imbalanced bone
In bone remodeling that is uncoupled and imbalanced, there is an excessive amount of newly woven weak bone that is easily fractured. Osteoblastic activity becomes abnormal such that there may be a net increase in bone formation at sites with no previous bone resorption. Commonly seen in osteoblastic lesions in patients with prostate cancer metastases.

Ureter
The fibromuscular tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder.

Ureterovesical junction
The point at which the ureter and bladder connect.