Tumor grade
Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. The cells of Grade 1 tumors are often well-differentiated or low-grade tumors, and are generally considered the least aggressive in behavior. Conversely, the cells of Grade 3 or Grade 4 tumors are usually poorly differentiated or undifferentiated high-grade tumors, and are generally the most aggressive in behavior.
The grade of a tumor may be used to plan treatment and estimate the future course and outcome of disease (prognosis) with certain types of cancers, such as soft tissue sarcoma, primary brain tumors, lymphomas, and breast and prostate cancer.
Some cancers also have special grading systems. For example, pathologists use the Gleason system to describe the degree of differentiation of prostate cancer cells. The Gleason system uses scores ranging from Grade 2 to Grade 10. Lower Gleason scores describe well-differentiated, less aggressive tumors. Higher scores describe poorly-differentiated, more aggressive tumors.
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- Tumor marker
A substance that can be detected in higher-than-normal amounts in the blood, urine, or body tissues of some patients with certain types of cancer. A tumor marker may be made by a tumor itself, or it may be made by the body as a response to the tumor. Tumor marker tests are not used alone […]
- Tumor marker, CEA
cancer of the pancreas, stomach, breast, lung, and certain types of thyroid and ovarian cancer. Levels over 20 ng/ml before therapy are associated with cancer which has already metastasized (spread). CEA is useful in monitoring the treatment of CEA-rich tumors. If the CEA is high before treatment, it should fall to normal after successful therapy. […]
- Tumor marker, NSE
neuroblastoma, small cell lung cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, carcinoid tumors, endocrine tumors of the pancreas, and melanoma. Studies of NSE as a tumor marker have concentrated primarily on patients with neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer. Measurement of NSE levels in patients with these two diseases can provide information about the extent of the disease […]
- Tumor necrosis factor
One of multiple proteins capable of inducing necrosis (death) of tumor cells that possess a wide range of proinflammatory actions. Abbreviated TNF. TNF is a multifunctional cytokine with effects on lipid metabolism, coagulation, insulin resistance, and the function of endothelial cells lining blood vessels. Drugs that block the action of TNF have been shown to […]
- Tumor registry
Recorded information about the status of patients with tumors. Although a registry was originally the place where information was collected (in registers), the word registry has also come to mean the collection itself. A tumor registry is organized so that the data can be analyzed. For example, analysis of data in a tumor registry maintained […]