| carcinoma, acinar cell | A malignant tumour arising from secreting cells of a racemose gland, particularly the salivary glands. Racemose (latin racemosus, full of clusters) refers, as does acinar (latin acinus, grape), to small saclike dilatations in various glands. Acinar cell carcinomas are usually well differentiated and account for about 13% of the cancers arising in the parotid gland. Lymph node metastasis occurs in about 16% of cases. Local recurrences and distant metastases many years after treatment are common. This tumour appears in all age groups and is most common in women. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| carcinoma, adenoid cystic | Carcinoma characterised by bands or cylinders of hyalinised or mucinous stroma separating or surrounded by nests or cords of small epithelial cells. When the cylinders occur within masses of epithelial cells, they give the tissue a perforated, sievelike, or cribriform appearance. Such tumours occur in the mammary glands, the mucous glands of the upper and lower respiratory tract, and the salivary glands. They are malignant but slow-growing, and tend to spread locally via the nerves. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, adenosquamous | A mixed adenocarcinoma and squamous cell or epidermoid carcinoma. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, adrenal cortical | A malignant neoplasm of adrenal cortical cells demonstrating partial or complete histological and functional differentiation. They are rare, comprising between only 0.05% and 0.2% of all cancers. Women develop functional adrenal cortical carcinomas more commonly than men, but men develop nonfunctioning ones more often than women. Hypercortisolism is the most common presentation for this cancer. Virilism and cushing's syndrome may also result. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, basal cell | A malignant skin neoplasm that seldom metastasizes but has potentialities for local invasion and destruction. Clinically it is divided into types: nodular, cicatricial, morphaic, and erythematoid (pagetoid). More than 95% of these carcinomas occur in patients over 40. They develop on hair-bearing skin, most commonly on sun-exposed areas. Approximately 85% are found on the head and neck area and the remaining 15% on the trunk and limbs. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, basosquamous | A skin carcinoma that histologically exhibits both basal and squamous elements. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, bronchogenic | A cancer of the lung, so-called because it arises from the epithelium of the bronchial tree. It is not a histologic designation despite the name. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, ehrlich tumour | A transplantable, poorly differentiated malignant tumour which appeared originally as a spontaneous breast carcinoma in a mouse. It grows in both solid and ascitic forms. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, embryonal | A highly malignant, primitive form of carcinoma, probably of germinal cell or teratomatous derivation, usually arising in a gonad and rarely in other sites. It is rare in the female ovary, but in the male it accounts for 20% of all testicular tumours. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, endometrioid | Ovarian carcinoma which resembles typical carcinoma of the endometrium and may be seen with a synchronous endometrial carcinoma. When they appear together, both tend to be of low stage. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma | <tumour> Carcinoma arising in a benign mixed tumour of a salivary gland, characterised by rapid enlargement and pain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| carcinoma, giant cell | An epithelial neoplasm characterised by unusually large anaplastic cells. It is highly malignant with fulminant clinical course, bizarre histologic appearance and poor prognosis. It is most common in the lung and thyroid. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, hepatocellular | Primary carcinoma of the liver cells. It ranges from a well-differentiated tumour difficult to distinguish from normal hepatocytes to a poorly differentiated neoplasm. The cells may be uniform or markedly pleomorphic or may form giant cells. Several classification schemes have been suggested. Hepatocellular carcinoma is very rare in the united states and western europe, but it is one of the most common cancers in eastern asia and sub-saharan africa. The cases are preponderantly male and, racially, whites have the lowest rates. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma, infiltrating duct | An invasive (infiltrating) carcinoma of the breast. This carcinoma in which no special histological feature is recognised is designated nos or not otherwise specified and is by far the most common ductal tumour, accounting for almost 70% of breast cancers. It is characterised by stony hardness upon palpation. It commonly metastasizes to the axillary lymph nodes and its prognosis is the poorest of the various ductal types. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinoma in situ | Cancer that involves only the cells in which it began and has not spread to other tissues. Lobular carcinoma in situ is found in the lobules of the breast. Ductal carcinoma in situ (also called intraductal carcinoma) arises in the ducts. (16 Dec 1997) |