Cancer could easily be a beat all its own, and for many reporters it is. If you’re new to reporting on cancer, however, the terminology could leave your head spinning. Here are resources related to cancer terminology, drugs, genetics, trials and more.
The NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms includes definitions of 8,588 terms related to cancer and medicine. The American Cancer Society’s glossary does not contain quite as many terms but remains helpful.
- The NCI Dictionary of Genetics Terms includes definitions of more than 200 terms related to genetics.
- The American Society of Clinical Oncology runs a patient-centered website called Cancer.net that includes a helpful page on Cancer Terms as well as a glossary of most cancer types.
- If you’re unsure what those letters after a health care provider’s name means, here’s a helpful glossary of those abbreviations from the Cancer Resource Center, albeit not in alphabetical order.
- Perhaps the most confusing terms are the alphabet soup of cancer research. Not all the initials and acronyms are in this online book about clinical trials, but many are. The Cancer Index also has an acronym glossary, and this book on cancer in middle and lower income countries has another.
- The NCI Drug Dictionary includes definitions of and synonyms for drugs/agents used to treat patients with cancer or conditions related to cancer. You can also look for clinical trials involving that agent in the NCI’s List of Cancer Clinical Trials.
- The National Cancer Institute provides an NCI-Supported Clinical Trials site where you can search for any and all clinical trials that are supported in any way by the NCI. You can search by cancer type or keyword, age of participants or U.S. ZIP code.