| 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. |
| cancer |
a disease in which certain cells grow much faster than they should and kill healthy cells. Cancer can affect many different parts of the body. |
| 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 constellation located between Taurus and Cancer. Gemini is also called the 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] |
| leukemia |
a disease that is a type of cancer inside the bones. With this disease the body makes too many white blood cells. |
| 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. |