Glossary of Medical Terms

Additional cancer treatment given after the primary treatment to lower the risk that the cancer will come back. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, or biological therapy.

Activities of daily living. The tasks of everyday life. Basic ADLs include eating, dressing, getting into or out of a bed or chair, taking a bath or shower, and using the toilet. Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are activities related to independent living and include preparing meals, managing money, shopping, doing housework, and using a telephone. Also called activities of daily living.

In medicine, the act of giving a treatment, such as a drug, to a patient. It can also refer to the way it is given, the dose, or how often it is given.

A lump in tissue near the uterus, usually in the ovary or fallopian tube. Adnexal masses include ovarian cysts, ectopic (tubal) pregnancies, and benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer) tumors.

A drug used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer. It is used in certain patients who have already been treated with an anticancer drug called trastuzumab and a type of drug called a taxane. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Ado-trastuzumab emtansine contains a monoclonal antibody called trastuzumab that binds to a protein called HER2, which is found on some breast cancer cells. It also contains an anticancer drug called DM1, which may help kill cancer cells. Ado-trastuzumab emtansine is a type of antibody-drug conjugate. Also called Kadcyla and T-DM1.

Period of growth and development from puberty to maturity.

A young person who has begun puberty but has not yet become an adult. During adolescence a child experiences physical and hormonal changes that mark the transition into adulthood. Adolescents are generally between the ages of 10 and 19 years.

A type of immunotherapy in which T cells (a type of immune cell) are given to a patient to help the body fight diseases, such as cancer. In cancer therapy, T cells are usually taken from the patient's own blood or tumor tissue, grown in large numbers in the laboratory, and then given back to the patient to help the immune system fight the cancer. Sometimes, the T cells are changed in the laboratory to make them better able to target the patient's cancer cells and kill them. Types of adoptive cell therapy include chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Adoptive cell therapy that uses T cells from a donor is being studied in the treatment of some types of cancer and some infections. Also called adoptive cell transfer, cellular adoptive immunotherapy, and T-cell transfer therapy.

A type of immunotherapy in which T cells (a type of immune cell) are given to a patient to help the body fight diseases, such as cancer. In cancer therapy, T cells are usually taken from the patient's own blood or tumor tissue, grown in large numbers in the laboratory, and then given back to the patient to help the immune system fight the cancer. Sometimes, the T cells are changed in the laboratory to make them better able to target the patient's cancer cells and kill them. Types of adoptive cell transfer include chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Adoptive cell transfer that uses T cells from a donor is being studied in the treatment of some types of cancer and some infections. Also called adoptive cell therapy, cellular adoptive immunotherapy, and T-cell transfer therapy.

Cancer that forms in the tissues of the adrenal glands (two glands located just above the kidneys). The adrenal glands make hormones that control heart rate, blood pressure, and other important body functions. Adrenal cancer that starts in the outside layer of the adrenal gland is called adrenocortical carcinoma. Adrenal cancer that starts in the center of the adrenal gland is called malignant pheochromocytoma.