Color and Oncology
Color
You will learn words in later chapters that use color to describe a cell, a structure, or a disease state. Here are the combining forms for these colors.
chrom/o: color, colored
chlor/o: green
cyan/o: blue
erythr/o: red
leuk/o: white
melan/o: black
xanth/o: yellow
Oncology
You will learn terms in later chapters for various types of tumors and cancers. These are examples of neoplasms, or newly grown tissue in the body.
A tumor or cancer is classified as benign (noncancerous, or remaining within the tissue in which it developed) or malignant (cancerous, or capable of spreading to other tissues). Benign tumors don’t always cause major health problems, but if they compress other tissue, nerves, or blood vessels, the patient may choose to get them surgically removed. Some benign tumors are considered precancerous and may develop into malignant tumors eventually, but this is not often the case. When a malignant tumor has spread to other tissues or organs, it is said to have metastasized.
A tumor or cancer is named after the type of tissue in which it originated and whether it is benign or malignant.
Word Roots
cancer/o, carcin/o: cancer
onc/o: tumor, mass
Suffixes
-oma: tumor, swelling (noun); when used alone, it typically refers to a benign tumor
-carcinoma: malignant tumor that originates in epithelium (noun)
-plasia: process of formation/growth (noun)
-plasm: substance, formation, growth, something that has grown (noun)
-sarcoma: malignant tumor of bone, blood vessels, cartilage, nerves, muscles, fat, joints, tendons, and ligaments (noun)
Disease and Disorder Oncology Terms
adenocarcinoma: malignant tumor of glandular tissue
adenoma: benign tumor of glandular tissue
epithelioma: tumor composed of epithelial tissue
fibroma: benign tumor composed of fibrous tissue
fibrosarcoma: malignant tumor composed of fibrous tissue
lipoma: benign tumor composed of adipose tissue
liposarcoma: malignant tumor composed of adipose tissue
myoma: benign tumor composed of muscle tissue
myosarcoma: malignant tumor composed of muscle tissue
neoplasm: literally “new growth”; used to describe growth of abnormal tissue, either benign or malignant
neuroma: benign tumor composed of nerve tissue
neurosarcoma: malignant tumor composed of nerve tissue
Career Terms
oncologist: a physician who specializes in diagnosing, treating, and studying tumors and cancers
oncology: the study of tumors and cancers