Featured partner:

Closely monitoring a patient's condition but withholding treatment until symptoms appear or change. Also called expectant management, observation, and watchful waiting.

adjunct agent

A drug or substance used in addition to the primary therapy.

adjunct therapy

A treatment used together with the primary treatment with the purpose of assisting the primary treatment. Also called adjunctive therapy.

adjuvant therapy

Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of complete remission. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, or biological therapy.

adverse effect

An unwanted side effect of treatment.

adverse event

An unexpected medical problem that happens during treatment with a drug or other therapy. Adverse events do not have to be caused by the drug or therapy, and they may be mild, moderate, or severe.

agonist

A drug that triggers an action from a cell or another drug.

B

C

CA-125

A protein found in the blood. Women with ovarian cancer often have high levels of this protein. But CA-125 may not be the most reliable indicator of disease, especially in the early stages of ovarian cancer. Still, doctors use it as a gauge.

complete remission

Cancer that appears to have disappeared after treatment. All currently available tests can find no evidence of disease.

consolidation therapy

Treatment given to a person whose cancer appears to have been eliminated-that is, the cancer is in complete remission. Some studies show that consolidation therapy can prolong the length of time a woman lives without her ovarian cancer coming back.

CT scans or computed tomography

An imaging test in which x-rays are taken from different angles to produce pictures of internal organs. A CT scan can detect tumors as small as 5 millimeters (less than Ľ inch) in diameter.

D

DNA

Genetic material inside the cell.

E

F

G

gynecologic oncologist

A doctor who has been specially trained to treat cancer of the reproductive organs such as the ovaries.

H

I

intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy

Delivery of chemotherapy directly into the abdomen, through a tube, in order to expose cancer cells in the lining of the abdomen to a concentrated dose of the drug or drugs used.

intravenous chemotherapy

Delivery of chemotherapy into a blood vein.

J

K

L

lymph nodes

Small "filtering stations" that remove waste and fluids from tissues and organs and help fight infections. When invaded by cancer cells, lymph nodes are a jumping-off point from which tumors can spread throughout the body.

M

N

neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Chemotherapy delivered before surgery for ovarian cancer; surgery is usually the first treatment for the disease.

O

optimal debulking

A surgical procedure in which all of an ovarian tumor that is visible to the eye is removed.

P

Q

R

S

suboptimal debulking

A surgical procedure in which more than one centimeter (about half an inch) of an ovarian tumor is left behind.

T

targeted treatments

Treatments that attack cancer cells primarily, sparing normal, healthy tissues. Targeted treatments tend to cause fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.