carcinoma
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GC: n

S: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/what-is-carcinoma (last access: 1 March 2015); DORLAND pp. 290-293.

N: 1. “malignant tumor,” 1721, from Latin carcinoma, from Greek karkinoma “a cancer,” from karkinos “cancer,” literally “crab” (see cancer) + -oma (word-forming element, from Greek -oma, with lengthened stem vowel + -ma, suffix forming neuter nouns and nouns that indicate result of verbal action (equivalent of Latin -men); especially taken in medical use as “morbid growth, tumor,” based on sarcoma, carcinoma).
2. Carcinoma is a type of cancer that starts in cells that make up the skin or the tissue lining organs, such as the liver or kidneys.
Like other types of cancer, carcinomas are abnormal cells that divide without control. They are able to spread to other parts of the body, but don’t always. “Carcinoma in situ” stays in the cells where it started.
Not all cancers are carcinoma. Other types of cancer that aren’t carcinomas invade the body in different ways. Those cancers begin in other types of tissue, such as:

  • Bone
  • Blood vessels
  • Immune system cells
  • Brain
  • Spinal cord.

3. Types of Carcinoma. Although carcinomas can occur in many parts of the body, you may often hear people talk about these common types of carcinoma:

  • Basal cell carcinoma
  • Squamous cell carcinoma
  • Renal cell carcinoma
  • Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
  • Invasive ductal carcinoma.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=carcinoma&searchmode=none (last access: 1 March 2015). 2 & 3. http://www.webmd.com/cancer/what-is-carcinoma (last access: 1 March 2015).

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CR: cancer, cervical cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, sarcoma, tumor.