| progression | 1. The act of moving forward; a proceeding in a course; motion onward. 2. Course; passage; lapse or process of time. "I hope, in a short progression, you will be wholly immerged in the delices and joys of religion." (Evelyn) 3. <mathematics> Regular or proportional advance in increase or decrease of numbers; continued proportion, arithmetical, geometrical, or harmonic. 4. A regular succession of tones or chords; the movement of the parts in harmony; the order of the modulations in a piece from key to key. Arithmetical progression, a progression in which the terms increase or decrease by equal differences, as the numbers by the difference 2. Geometrical progression, a progression in which the terms increase or decrease by equal ratios, as the numbers by a continual multiplication or division by 2. Harmonic progression, a progression in which the terms are the reciprocals of quantities in arithmetical progression, as 1/2, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, 1/10. Origin: L. Progressio: cf. F. Progression. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| disease progression | The worsening of a disease over time. This concept is most often used for chronic and incurable diseases where the stage of the disease is an important determinant of therapy and prognosis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| tumor | 1. <oncology> An abnormal mass of tissue that results from excessive cell division that is uncontrolled and progressive, also called a neoplasm. Tumours perform no useful body function. They may be either benign (not cancerous) or malignant. 2. Swelling, one of the cardinal signs of inflammations, morbid enlargement. Origin: L. Tumere = to swell (12 May 1997) |
| tumor marker | <investigation, oncology> A substance in the body that usually indicates the presence of cancer. These markers are usually specific to certain types of cancer and are usually found in the blood or other tissue samples. Examples are alphafetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). They may be indicators of tumour stage and grade as well as useful for monitoring responses to treatment and predicting recurrence. Many chemical groups are represented including hormones, antigens, amino and nucleic acids, enzymes, polyamines, and specific cell membrane proteins and lipids. (18 Jul 2002) |
| tumor necrosis factor | <cytokine> Originally described as a tumour inhibiting factor in the blood of animals exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide or Bacille Calmette-Guerin. Preferentially kills tumour cells in vivo and in vitro, causes necrosis of certain transplanted tumours in mice and inhibits experimental metastases. Human Tumour Necrosis factor alpha is a protein of 157 amino acids and has a wide range of pro inflammatory actions. Usually considered a cytokine. Synonym: cachectin. Acronym: TNF (13 Nov 1997) |
| tumour progression | <oncology> Second stage of tumour development. See: tumour initiation. (18 Nov 1997) |