IBC Pink Ribbon Logo

Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Help Website Abbreviations
 

IBC Home

Site Map

Site Links

Abbreviations for Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients:
1/4 or 4/16 -
1 node positive out of four or 4 nodes positive out of 16 (also written 1/4 LN by some)
5-FU -
fluourocil (chemotherapy drug)
ABMT -
Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant (you get your own bone marrow back after HDC)
ACS -
American Cancer Society
adj -
adjuvant chemotherapy
Adria -
Adriamycin, trade name for doxorubicin, a chemo drug
AMA -
American Medical Association
BC -
breast cancer
BCS -
Breast Conservation surgery
BMT -
Bone Marrow Transplant (see HDC and HDC/BMT)
BRCA1 & BRCA2 (pronounced bra-ka one ...) -
Genes, prone to multiple mutations, that are involved in a percentage of the breast cancers
BSE -
Breast Self Examination
ca -
cancer or carcinoma
CA -
cytoxan plus adriamycin (treatment regimen)
CAF -
above with 5-FU (fluourocil) (treatment regimen) (sometimes people write something like CAFx4, which means 4 treatment cycles using CAF)
CAT scan -
computerized tomography scan (see CT, below)
CEF -
cytoxan plus epirubicin plus 5-FU (treatment regimen)
CMF -
cytoxan plus methotrexate plus 5-FU (treatment regimen)
chemo -
chemotherapy
CT -
computerized tomography scan
DCIS -
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (compare to LCIS, below)
Dx -
diagnosis
EIC -
extensive intraductal component
ER/PR -
estrogen/Progesterone (for example, ER+ is estrogen-positive) (for example, PR- is Progesterone negative)
excision, biopsy -
surgery
FAQ -
frequently asked questions
FDA -
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
FU -
5-FU, fluourocil (chemotherapy drug)
GMCSF -
granulocyte macrophage colony factor that stimulates the white blood cells
HDC -
high dose chemotherapy (often used as HDC/BMT) /PSCT or /PSCR - used with HDC, means with peripheral stem cell transplant or rescue
HER2 -
Human EGF-like Receptor No. 2; short for HER2-ECD (Extra-Cellular Domain) (also called Her2/neu)
HRT -
Hormone Replacement Therapy
HDC -
high dose chemotherapy /PSCT or /PSCR - used with HDC, means with peripheral stem cell transplant or rescue
HMO -
Health Maintenance Organization
IDC -
infiltrating ductal carcinoma (most common BC)
lat flap -
latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction
LCIS -
Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (compare to DCIS, above)
LN -
lymph nodes (used by some instead of "N")
lob -
lobular
LPN -
licensed practical nurse
mammo -
mammogram
MD -
medical doctor
med onc -
medical oncologist
mets -
metastases
MRI -
magnetic resonance imagery
MRM -
Modified Radical Mastectomy
MS Contin -
morphine sulphate, time-released morphine pill
M0 or M1 -
whether cancer has metastasized (zero is no, the number 1 is yes) (see "TNM system," below)
MX -
metastasis cannot be, or has not been, assessed
N0, N1, N2, N3 -
whether lymph nodes have cancer
N1 -
Metastasis to movable ipsilateral axillary lymph node(s)
N2 -
Metastasis to ipsilateral axillary lymph node(s) fixed to one another or to other structures
N3 -
Metastasis to ipsilateral internal mammary lymph node(s) (see "TNM system," below)
NX -
lymph nodes cannot be, or have not been, microscopically assessed (see "TNM system," below)
N=1, N=7, etc. -
how many nodes in a sample had cancer, as used on this list (actually, some on the list omit the = sign, with possible confusion of a "N1" listing; does this mean nodes positive, or one node?)
NCI -
National Cancer Institute (part of NIH)
NED -
No evidence of disease
NIH -
National Institutes of Health
NLM -
National Library of Medicine (part of NIH)
onc, onco, or oncodoc -
oncologist
p53 -
a certain tumor-suppressor gene
PDQ -
Physician Data Query - information from NCI
rad -
radiotherapy
RD -
registered dietician
RN -
registered nurse
R2R -
Reach to Recovery ACS program
rad onc -
radiation oncologist
S-phase -
proliferative index % of tumor cells actively dividing at a given time
SPF -
S-phase fraction (same as S-phase)
TAM -
tamoxifen
T0, T1, T2, T3 -
(size of tumor)
T0 -
no evidence of primary tumor
T1 -
<2 cm (less then 2 cm - 1 inch = 2.5 cm),
T2 -
2-5 cm (about 1-2 inches)
T3 -
>5 cm (over 2 inches) (also see "TNM system," below)
TNM system -
one of the systems for staging BC at diagnosis, where T=tumor size (see system above, under "T0"), N=whether lymph nodes have cancer (no or yes, zero or 1) M=whether cancer has metastasized to other organs (no or yes, zero or 1)
TRAM-flap -
one type of breast reconstruction
Tx -
Treatment
ultra -
ultrasound
x4 (or other number) -
used when describing number of chemo treatment cycles, for example - CAFx4
Website Search Engine
Search this website for specific information available about Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
Links