Glossary

Adenocarcinoma
Comes from the glands that make mucous, located under the anal lining

Basal cell carcinoma 
A form of skin cancer that can occur on the skin around the anus 

Benign
A benign tumor is a growth that is not cancerous. A malignant tumor is cancer.

Biopsy
Procedure to remove a small amount of tissue from the body to examine it and tell whether there is disease. Common types of biopsies include removing tissue by surgery or removing fluid using a syringe.

Chemotherapy
Using high-potency drugs that target quickly dividing cells and destroy them. Some of the healthy cells (such as hair follicles, cells in the lining of the mouth and intestines and normal bone marrow stem cells) are also quickly dividing cells, so they are killed as well—their destruction results in some of the side effects patients experience.

Cloacogenic carcinoma
Starts between the outer part of the anus and the lower part of the rectum, affecting about 25 percent of patients 

Computed tomography (CT) scan
An X-ray procedure, usually called a CT scan (“cat” scan). It takes a lot of pictures as it rotates around you and shows detailed cross-sectional pictures of the body. Your doctor will have pictures of many slices of the part of your body under study.

Fellow
A doctor who has completed medical school and specialty training, such as in pediatrics, and who is training in a subspecialty, such as pediatric oncology.

HIV 
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Intravenous (IV)
Into a vein

Malignant
A malignant tumor is cancer. A benign tumor is a growth that is not cancerous.

Melanoma
Another form of skin cancer that occurs in the anal lining that darkens the skin

Resection
The surgical removal

Squamous cell carcinoma
The most common type, begins in the outer lining of the anal canal