| aflatoxin |
any of a group of toxic compounds produced by certain molds, esp. those in the genus Aspergillus. Consumption of food contaminated with these molds can cause liver disease and cancer. |
| Agent Orange |
an extremely toxic defoliant widely used by U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War and now believed to cause cancer and birth defects. |
| atomic cocktail |
(informal) a dose of a liquid, taken orally, that contains a radioactive substance used in the diagnosis or treatment of cancer. |
| cancerous |
pertaining to or affected with the disease of cancer. [2 definitions] |
| carcinogen |
a substance that causes cancer. |
| carcinoma |
a malignant tumor consisting of epithelial cells; cancer. |
| cisplatin |
a platinum-containing chemotherapy drug used esp. in the treatment of ovarian, testicular, and bladder cancer. |
| colostomy |
a surgical opening cut into the colon to allow excretion, usu. made when the rectum is blocked or after surgery for colon cancer. |
| Delaney clause |
an amendment to a U.S. law that prohibits the use of food additives found to cause cancer in animals or humans. |
| drug resistance |
the reduction in effectiveness of a drug in curing an infectious disease or cancer. Drug resistance typically develops when pathogenic cells or cancerous cells evolve the ability to tolerate a drug used to kill them. |
| drug-resistant |
of or relating to a pathogen or cancer that has evolved the ability to tolerate a drug. |
| estradiol |
a drug made from this hormone, used in treating estrogen deficiency and conditions related to menopause and cancer. [1/2 definitions] |
| Gemini |
a spring zodiacal constellation located between Taurus and Cancer and containing two bright stars, Castor and Pollux; Twins. [1/3 definitions] |
| hepatoma |
cancer of or from the liver. |
| Kaposi's sarcoma |
a cancer of connective tissue that is marked by painless external lesions and sometimes affects internal organs, occurring in esp. serious form among people with AIDS. |
| laetrile |
a drug made of substances from almond seeds and apricot or peach pits, used to treat some types of cancer but banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. |
| Leo |
a spring zodiacal constellation located between Cancer and Virgo and containing the bright star Regulus; Lion. [1/3 definitions] |
| lymphedema |
swelling and fluid accumulation in soft tissue that most commonly results from cancer treatment or parasitic infection but may also result from a genetic condition. |
| macrophage |
a white blood cell that engulfs and digests microbes, cancer cells, and foreign substances. |
| multidrug resistance |
the reduction in effectiveness of more than one drug in curing an infectious disease or cancer. Drug resistance typically develops when pathogenic cells or cancerous cells evolve the ability to tolerate drugs used to kill them. |
| multidrugresistant |
of or relating to a disease-causing agent, such as a pathogen or cancer, that has evolved the ability to tolerate more than one drug, or to a disease caused by such an agent. |