Glossary Term |
Definition |
---|
AB |
Alberta |
adjuvant chemotherapy |
Cancer chemotherapy (drugs) employed after the primary tumor has been removed by some other method. |
age-standardized |
The same age-distribution as a given standard population. |
age-standardized incidence |
The incidence rate of a particular disease in a population if that population had a standard age structure. |
allogeneic |
Stem cells donated by another person |
Ambulatory Oncology Patient Satisfaction Survey (AOPSS) |
A survey that reports on dimensions of the patient experience, in regards to the care received in outpatient cancer treatement settings. |
AOPSS |
Ambulatory Oncology Patient Satisfaction Survey |
AUS |
Australia |
autologous |
Cells or tissues obtained from the same individual |
BC |
British Columbia |
blood pressure |
The pressure exerted by blood against the walls of the blood vessel. |
CAN |
Canada |
case identification |
The diagnosis and staging of a cancer case. |
Charlson Comorbidity Index |
The Charlson Comorbidity Index contains 19 categories of comorbidity and predicts the 10-year mortality for a patient who may have a range of co-morbid conditions. |
chemotherapy |
One form of cancer treatment that uses powerful chemicals and drugs. |
cholesterol |
A type of fat in your blood that may increase the risk for heart attack and stroke. |
colonoscopy |
Examination of the inside of the colon using a colonoscope, inserted into the rectum. A colonoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument with a light and a lens for viewing. |
comorbidity |
When a person has 1 or more diseases in addition to their primary disease. The comorbid diseases may influence the course or outcome of each other. |
CT scan |
computerized tomography scan |
determinants of health |
Biological and social factors that determine the health of a population. |
Diagnosis to Referral |
The time between initial diagnosis and referral date. |
Disease Pathway Management |
A clinical program of Cancer Care Ontario that applies a framework for examining the performance of the entire system across the cancer journey—from prevention to recovery and end-of-life care—and identifies any gaps and bottlenecks along the way. |
dysphagia |
Difficulty swallowing. |
gene-environment interactions |
The phenotypic effect of interactions between genes and the environment. |
glandular lesion |
Pre-cancerous lesions of the cervical glands that may develop into cervical cancer. |
guideline |
Evidence-based recommendations for practice. |
Health Tables |
Well-established boards, committees and advisory groups with a vested interest in First Nations, Inuit and Métis health. See Technical Information for more details. |
human papillomavirus |
A type of virus that can cause abnormal tissue growth (e.g. warts) and other changes to cells. Infection for a long time with certain types of human papillomavirus can cause cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus may also play a role in some other types of cancer, such as anal, vaginal, vulvar, penile, oropharyngeal, and squamous cell skin cancers. Also called HPV. |
IMRT |
intensity modulated radiation therapy |
incidence |
The number of new cases within a specified period of time. |
incidence rates |
The rates of newly diagnosed patients within specified periods of time. |
incident |
The number of new cases within a specified period of time. |
income |
The amount of monetary or other returns, either earned or unearned, accruing over a given period of time. |
income quintile |
The division of a population into 5 groups based on income level. |
intensity modulated radiation therapy |
An advanced type of high-precision radiotherapy that uses computer-controlled X-ray accelerators to deliver high doses of radiation to a cancer while significantly decreasing damage to surrounding healthy tissues and minimizing side effects. |
interquartile range |
The interquartile range refers to the middle 50% of values when ordered from lowest to highest. It tells us how spread out the "middle" values are. |
JPN |
Japan |
legislation |
Law which has been enacted by a legislature or other governing body. |
malignant |
Cancerous cells that invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body. |
MB |
Manitoba |
metastases |
The spread of cancer from its original or primary site to other parts of the body |
metastasis |
The spread of cancer from its original or primary site to other parts of the body. |
metastatic |
Having to do with metastasis, which is the spread of cancer from the primary site (place where it started) to other places in the body. |
morbidity |
A diseased state or symptom : ill health. |
mortality |
The number deaths in a population within a specified period of time. |
mortality rates |
A measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. |
MRI |
magnetic resonance imaging |
NB |
New Brunswick |
neoadjuvant chemotherapy |
A form of chemotherapy that is used prior to the main form of treatment, usually surgery, to shrink the tumour |
NL |
Newfoundland |
NS |
Nova Scotia |
NT |
The Northwest Territories |
NU |
Nunavut |
NZ |
New Zealand |
ON |
Ontario |
patterns |
Combinations of qualities, acts, tendencies etc. that form a consistent or characteristic arrangement. |
PE |
Prince Edward Island |
point-in-time |
Wait time at a particular point in the month, collected to give us a snapshot of the wait time. |
positive predictive value |
Quality measure that assesses the likelihood that someone with an abnormal screening test result has a pre-invasive cancer (cervical) or a cancer (breast). |
pre-cancerous |
Of, relating to, or being a condition or lesion that typically precedes or develops into a cancer. |
prevalence |
The total number of people in a population who have been diagnosed with a given condition (e.g. cancer) or who are exposed to a given risk factor or behaviour (e.g. smoking) at a given point in time. It is often expressed as percentage of the population and when applied to cancer, includes both new and existing cases. |
prevalence rates |
The rate of cases in a defined population at a given time. It includes both incident (new) and ongoing cases of the disease. |
prevalent |
The total number of cases in a defined population at a given time. It includes both incident (new) and ongoing cases of the disease. |
prevalent case |
The total number of cases in a defined population at a given time. It includes both incident (new) and ongoing cases of the disease. |
prevalent patients |
The total number of patients in a defined population at a given time. It includes both incident (new) and ongoing (existing) patients with the disease. |
priority access |
The priority of the case, determined by the surgeon. Depends on many factors, such as the type of cancer, patient complexity and progression of the disease. |
QC |
Quebec |
radiation |
One of the main methods of treating cancer. It uses high-energy radiation to destroy or shrink cancer cells by damaging their DNA. |
RCP |
Regional Cancer Program |
Ready-to-treat to start of treatment |
The time between being ready for treatment and receiving first treatment. |
recurrence |
The return of cancer in a cancer survivor. |
Referral to Consult |
The time between referral date and consultation date. |
Regional Cancer Programs |
Networks of stakeholders, healthcare professionals and organizations involved in cancer prevention and care within each of Ontario's 14 Local Health Integration Networks. |
relative survival ratio |
The ratio of the proportion of observed survivors in a cohort of cancer patients to the proportion of expected survivors in a comparable set of cancer-free individuals. |
reoperation |
A secondary surgical procedure that is required as a result of direct or indirect complications from the initial surgery they underwent. |
resected |
An organ, tissue or cancer that has been either partly or completely removed by surgery. |
resection |
The procedure of partially or completely removing an organ, tissue or cancer by surgery. |
risk |
The probability of developing a given condition. |
risk factor |
A substance or condition that affects the probability of developing a given condition |
screen-eligible |
Individuals in a population who meet the criteria for a particular screening test. |
screening patterns |
The overall screening rates for various types of cancers in a population. |
SK |
Saskatchawan |
SPA |
Spain |
stage |
Prognostically similar groups of patients with cancer according to the extent of the disease. |
stages I or II |
Stage I is divided into stages IA and IB. In stage IA, the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller. Cancer has not spread outside the breast. In stage IB, small clusters of breast cancer cells (larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters) are found in the lymph nodes and either: (1) no tumor is found in the breast or (2) the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller. |
staging |
The extent or severity of a person's cancer based on the size and/or extension of the original (primary) tumour and how far it has spread in the body. |
standardized symptom screening |
The use of a standardized tool to assess and manage patients' symptoms. |
surgery |
The treatment of disorders or injuries of the body using incisions. |
surveillance |
The monitoring of cancer in a patient. |
surveillance colonoscopy |
Examination of the inside of the colon using a colonoscope, inserted into the rectum to check for recurrence in cancer survivors. |
survival |
Being alive for a given period of time after a diagnosis. |
survival ratios |
The proportion of individuals alive for a given period of time after a diagnosis. |
synoptic pathology reports |
Electronic reports in discrete data field format that allow for the standardized collection, transmission, storage, retrieval and sharing of data between clinical information systems. |
systemic (drug) therapy |
Drug treatment form of chemotherapy. |
UK |
England, Wales and Northern Ireland |
unresected |
An organ, tissue or cancer that has not been either partly or completely removed by surgery. |
urban or rural residence |
Living in a census metropolitan area (CMA) with a core population of 10,000 or more and 50% or more of the population commute to an urban CMA (urban residence), or an area with a core population of less than 10,000 and 30% to 49% of the population commute to an urban area (rural residence). |
USA |
United States of America |
utilization |
Utilization represents the proportion of patients with a new diagnosis of carcinoma that receives at least one course of radiotherapy during the course of their illness. |
YK |
Yukon |