Glossary

The next treatment used against a disease when the first treatment fails.

A drug that helps a person to relax or go to sleep.

Surgery to remove a thin tissue sample from the top of a tumor to test for cancer cells.

Any objective evidence of a disease, for example, evidence perceptible to the examining physician. (See also Symptoms.)

A drug that is used as the only treatment.

One of the approved drugs for treating symptoms of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

A computer picture of areas inside the body, created by sound waves bounced off tissues and organs.

An organ located on the left side of the abdomen, near the stomach, that is part of the lymphatic system; it produces white blood cells, filters the blood, stores blood cells, and destroys old blood cells.

The blood vessel that brings oxygenated blood to the spleen. It branches from the celiac artery.

Drains blood from the spleen, part of the stomach, and part of the pancreas.

In cancer, the stage denotes the extent of the disease, especially whether it has spread from the original site to other parts of the body.

A standardized way to classify a tumor based on its size, whether it has spread, and where it has spread; staging measures the extent of the disease.

The treatment accepted by medical professionals as proper for specific diseases.

Excessive amounts of fat in the stool. Sometimes this can appear as an oil slick on top of the toilet water after the patient has had a bowel movement.

Device placed in a body structure (such as the pancreatic duct) to keep it open.

Multiple beams of high-dose radiation focused on a specified location in the body. The technique enables the radiation oncologist to kill cancer cells and limit the exposure of healthy tissue to radiation.

A kind of framework, made up of connective tissue, that provides support, structure, and anchoring for organs.

Under the skin.

One of the approved chemotherapy drugs for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, it is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with potential anticancer activity.

A major blood vessel for the intestines, colon, duodenum, and part of the pancreas. It branches off of the abdominal aorta.

The blood vessel that drains the small intestine. Its endpoint is behind the head of the pancreas.

A product that is added to the diet, such as a vitamin, mineral, or herb.

In patients with cancer, use of medications to prevent or counteract unwanted side effects of cancer or its treatment to improve quality of life.

A doctor who is an expert in cancer surgery.

Procedures done during surgery that are used to find out how far cancer has spread.

Follow-up testing that is done after treatment ends to look for new tumors.

The physical or mental problems a patient experiences that indicate the presence of a disease. (See also Signs.)

In cancer, a treatment in which a drug enters and travels throughout the body to reach tumor cells.