| drug screening assays, antitumour | Methods of investigating the effectiveness of anticancer cytotoxic drugs and biologic inhibitors. These include in vitro cell-kill models and cytostatic dye exclusion tests as well as in vivo measurement of tumour growth parameters in laboratory animals. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| drug screening | Preclinical testing of drugs in experimental animals or in vitro for their biological and toxic effects and potential clinical applications. (12 Dec 1998) |
| chemiluminescence assays | Including a subcategory using bioluminescence (biologically derived chemiluminescence agents), use the generation of light from oxidative chemical reactions as an indicator of the quantity of unbound luminescent labelled antigen. This allows quantitation of unlabelled antigen from patient specimens in a variety of homogeneous (single phase) or heterogeneous (multiple phase) immunoassay techniques. (05 Mar 2000) |
| drug-drug interaction | The effects that occur when two or more drugs are used together. Such effects include changes of absorption in the digestive tract, changes in rate of the drugs' breakdown in the liver, new or enhanced side effects and changes in the drugs' activity. (09 Oct 1997) |
| cancer, colon: screening and surveillance | Colon cancer is both preventable and curable. It is preventable by removing precancerous colon polyps. It is curable if early cancer is surgically removed before cancer spread to other parts of the body. Therefore, if screening and surveillance programs were practiced universally, there would be a major reduction in the incidence and mortality of colon cancer. (12 Dec 1998) |
| genetic screening | The process of testing individuals to find out if they carry genes for certain known genetic diseases, such as sickle cell anaemia. (09 Oct 1997) |
| carrier screening | Indiscriminate examination of members of a population to detect heterozygotes for serious disorders and counsel about the risks of marriages with other carriers, and by antenatal diagnosis where a married couple are both carriers; often sacrifices precision to simplicity and is most effectively applied to populations known to be at high risk. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mass screening | Organised periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| vision screening | Application of tests and examinations to identify visual defects or vision disorders occurring in specific populations, as in school children, the elderly, etc. It is differentiated from vision tests, which are given to evaluate/measure individual visual performance not related to a specific population. (12 Dec 1998) |
| multiphasic screening | The simultaneous use of multiple laboratory procedures for the detection of various diseases. These are usually performed on groups of people. (12 Dec 1998) |
| prenatal screening | Screening for the detection of foetal disease, usually by ultrasound examination or by testing amniotic fluid obtained by amniocentesis. Other screening techniques include testing maternal serum and placental biopsy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cytologic screening | A screening for the detection of early disease, usually cancer, through microscopic examination of a cellular specimen by inspecting each cell and structure present, usually at ×100 magnification with a mechanical stage, so that all areas are screened; the findings are evaluated and significant abnormalities are flagged (e.g., by dotting the cover slip) for further evaluation by a cytopathologist. This screening is usually performed by a cytotechnologist, but at times is done by automated machine prescreening. (05 Mar 2000) |
| screening | Examination of people with no symptoms, to detect unsuspected disease. (16 Dec 1997) |
| screening audiometry | Rapid measurement of the hearing of an individual or a group against a predetermined limit of normalcy; auditory responses to different frequencies presented at a constant intensity level are tested. (05 Mar 2000) |
| screening test | Any testing procedure designed to separate people or objects according to a fixed characteristic or property. (05 Mar 2000) |