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cancer Definition

can·cer (kansər)

noun

  1. a N constellation between Gemini and Leo; the Crab
  2. the fourth sign of the zodiac, entered by the sun about June 21: also called the Crab
  3. a person born under this sign
    1. a malignant new growth anywhere in the body of a person or animal; malignant tumor: cancers tend to spread locally and to distant parts of the body
    2. any of various diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells that disrupt body tissue, metabolism, etc.
  4. anything bad or harmful that spreads and destroys

Etymology: ME & OE < L, a crab; later, malignant tumor; by dissimilation (? already in IE) < IE *karkar-, redupl. of base *kar-, hard > hard, Gr karbinos, crab, Sans karkara, rough, hard, karkata, crab

cancer Related Forms

can·cer·ous adjective

cancer Synonyms

cancer

n.

cancer Usage Examples

Preposition: of

pancreas: The father of one of my close friends is terminally ill with cancer of the pancreas.

Converse of object

  • diagnose: Another avenue of nanotechnology research is to develop nanometre-sized contrast agents with ultrasound to diagnose ovarian cancer.
  • treat: For example, the BCG vaccine used to treat bladder cancer.
  • detect: The PSA test, although imperfect, remains our best means of detecting prostate cancer at a stage when it can still be cured.

Adjective modifier

  • ovarian: Nearly 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in the UK.
  • colorectal: AB - Colorectal cancer continues to be a major problem.
  • cervical: Mouth cancers have a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma.
  • pancreatic: The symptoms of pancreatic cancer can be quite vague.
  • testicular: Similar trends were seen in individuals with testicular cancer.
  • gastric: METHODS: The authors report a study about 15 patients, out of 116 cases of gastric cancer, operated by TEG between 1990-1998.

Modifies a noun

  • cell: Our aim is to examine the consequences of the inhibition of this pathway in human cancer cells.
  • patient: METHODS: The subjects were 50 advanced gastric cancer patients treated with FP.
  • screening: Cervical cancer screening for women over 20 years - not more often than every five years for maximum cost-effectiveness.
  • incidence: Cancer incidence was determined by linkage with the Danish Cancer Registry.

Noun used with modifier

  • breast: The research actually works with women who already have breast cancer, finding ways to maximize their survival.
  • prostate: The study compared 181 men with advanced prostate cancer with 181 men of similar age with no cancer.
  • lung: Lung Cancer Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer.
  • bowel: Carrying top weight is not just the reason either, physical activity itself can directly protect from bowel cancer.
  • colon: This involves examining the rectum for colon cancer by using a camera fitted on a flexible tube.
  • skin: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases every year.

Browse dictionary entries near cancer

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