Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) | A screening procedure for prostate cancer in which the doctor inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum to feel the size and shape of the prostate. |
| Enzymes | Proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body. |
| Epigenetic | How behavior or lifestyle choices and the environment can change the way your genetics or DNA work. |
| Focal Therapy (FT) | Achieves cancer control by targeting the lesions or the regions of the cancer and avoids damage to the surrounding tissues thus minimizing side effects which are common to the radical treatment, such as urinary continence and sexual function, and bowel-related side effects. Various ablative methods are used to deliver energy to the cancerous tissue. |
| FoundationOne Liquid CDX test | An FDA-approved germline test that analyzes genes in a blood sample. |
| Germline testing | Genetic testing done using a blood or saliva sample. A common germline test is known as the FoundationOne Liquid CDX test. |
| Gleason Grade | A grade given to each of the two most prevalent patterns of cancer cells in tissue obtained from biopsy of a prostate tumor that is based on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 to 3 corresponding to well-differentiated cancer cells similar in appearance to normal cells in surrounding tissue and 4 to 5 corresponding to poorly differentiated cancer cells that look abnormal. |
| Gleason Score | A score that is the sum of the two Gleason grades assigned to a prostate tumor and that is based on a scale of 2 to 10 with the lowest numbers indicating a slow-growing tumor unlikely to spread and the highest numbers indicating an aggressive tumor. |
| High Risk Prostate Cancer | Patients with high-risk disease have an increased risk of developing biochemical recurrence, metastases, and death from prostate cancer. |
| High-grade | Cancer cells tend to grow and spread more quickly. |
| High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) | Ultrasound waves to heat prostate tissue and tumor to destroy it. |
| Hypermethylation | Changes to DNA that can lead to cancer. |
| Immune check inhibitors (ICI) | A type of drug that blocks proteins (checkpoints) to help keep immune responses from being too strong and sometimes can keep T cells from killing cancer cells. |
| Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate | A type of prostate cancer that starts in tissues lining the prostate and then spreads to the ducts within the prostate. It is often large when it is found and can spread quickly to other parts of the body. Sometimes it also is called intraductal prostate carcinoma or IDC-P. |
| Intravenous (IV) | Administering or injecting fluids or medications into a vein. |