Actinic Keratosis (AK)
Small, scaly red patch caused by sun exposure; it is potential precancer of the non-melanoma type.

Adjuvant Therapy
Treatment offered in addition to the surgical removal of melanoma (for instance). Generally,  the therapy affects the whole body and is designed to kill disease that may have traveled to other parts of the body even before the primary tumor or diseased lymph nodes were recognized and removed.

Anti-CTLA-4

Therapies such as IPI (Ipilimumab) and Yervoy, that act to put the brakes on tumor growth by becoming an immune booster. It blocks a protein called CTLA-4 that acts as a brake on T cells, the soldiers of the immune system.  Approved by the FDA in March 2011 for use in Stage IV patients.

Anti-PD-1

Promising therapy akin to Yervoy (anti-CTLA-4) still in clinical trial.

Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC)
One of two most common kinds of non-melanoma cancer. It almost never metastasizes and is made up of the cells at the bottom layer of the epidermis that give rise to keratinocytes.

Biopsy
Surgical removal of a sample of tissue for examination under the microscope.

BRAF
The BRAF protein is a key component of the cellular pathways and may become mutated and cause tumor growth.  New BRAF therapies target this mutation to eliminate tumor progression .

Carcinogen
Chemical, physical, or biological agent that causes cancer.

CAT or CT Scan
X-ray procedure in which a computer produces detailed pictures of areas inside the body.

Chemotherapy

Medicines prescribed by medical oncologists that can kill cancer cells directly.  Some are given by pill or intravenously. It is considered a systemic therapy since it goes through the bloodstream to the entire body.

Congenital Nevi
Moles that are present at birth, sometimes called birthmarks.

Dermis
The layer of skin directly beneath the epidermis.

Dermatopathologist
Physician who has special training in diagnosing disease on the basis of microscopic examination of the skin.

Dysplastic Nevi (DN)
Moles associated with an increased risk of melanoma. Larger than ordinary moles, they are flat or have a flat part, and have indistinct or fuzzy borders and often uneven coloration.

Epidermis
The outermost layer of skin.

Excisional Biopsy
A biopsy to take all of a tumor that is in evidence.

FDA

Federal Drug Administration. Federal government agency responsible for approval of the use of certain drugs for therapies.

Immunotherapy

Treatments designed to help  your own body's immune system fight the cancer, similar to how your body fights off infections.

Incisional Biopsy
A biopsy done with a knife that samples only a part of a lesion.

Interferon (INF)
Type of protein produced by the immune system.  Artificially made treatment sometimes prescribed for Stage III disease is called Intron A and is approved by the FDA. 

Interleukin-2
Type of protein molecule produced by lymphocytes that activates other lymphocytes in the immune system.  Artificially made treatment is called IL2 or Proleukin sometimes prescribed for Stage IV disease.  Approved by the FDA.

Lesion
Well-defined, localized abnormality within an organ— e.g., a pigmented growth on the skin.

Lymphocyte
Type of white blood cell that plays an important part in immune reactions.

Lymph Gland, Lymph Node
Small bean-shaped organs located in the lymphatic system.

Lymphoscintigraphy
Technique of injecting a small amount of radioactive material near the site of a primary melanoma and then scanning different lymph node areas (armpits and groin for example) to see which group(s) of nodes "light up."

Magnetic Resonance Imaging  (MRI)

Imaging study that uses a magnetic field and a computer to create detailed pictures of the body.

Melanocytes
Cells located primarily at the bottom of the epidermis whose transfer of pigment to other cells is responsible in part for skin and hair color.

Metastases (mets)
Spread of cancer cells from one part of the body to another.

MEK

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Federally funded cancer research and treatment center under the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Nevus (plural nevi)

Mole.

No Evidence of Disease  (NED)

No measurable evidence of melanoma in your body

Pathology
Science of diagnosing disease by such methods as microscopic analysis of tissue.

  Palliative Care
Treatment that is intended to relieve symptoms, but not cure disease.

PET Scan (Positron emission tomography)

Using radioactive tracer attached to a sugar that is injected into the patient to find areas of tumor activity

Pigmented Lesion
Skin spot that has color—brown, black, or blue.

Primary Tumor or Site
Initial tumor or the body site where it forms.

Punch Biopsy
Biopsy in which a cookie cutter-like instrument is used to cut out a core of tissue.

Regional Perfusion Therapy
Therapy in which a whole limb is infused with cancer-killing drugs. The drugs are introduced into the artery supplying the limb and are taken out through the vein. The technique may be used for melanoma when there are multiple skin metastases that are apparently confined to the arm or leg that was the site of the primary tumor.

Radial Growth Phase (RGP)
Earliest step in the development of melanoma, in which the disease is confined to the epidermis or barely penetrates the dermis. No cluster of melanoma cells forms and no metastases result.

Seborrheic Keratosis
Benign skin lesion associated with aging and sun exposure; not precancerous.

Shave Biopsy
Biopsy done by shaving off a piece of skin with a sterile razor blade.

Squamous Cell Cancer (SCC)
One of the two common kinds of non-melanoma skin cancer, a malignancy that seldom metastasizes and is made up of keratinocytes in the epidermis.

Sentinel Node Biopsy (SNB or SLNB) 

Injecting a small amount of radioactive dye into the area of the primary melanoma to scan for melanoma cells in the sentinel nodes.  

 

Subcutis, Subcutaneous Tissue
Layer of fat located under the dermis.

Stage (of cancer)
Measure of the extent of a malignancy, arrived at by examining features of the primary tumor and searching for evidence of metastasis.

Targeted Therapies

Newer therapies based on knowing how cancer cells function. These therapies work to stop cancer cells from growing and/or make other therapies work better. some may work by preventing the growth of new blood vessels needed to nourish the cancer. Others work to block the action of molecules on the surface of cancer cells.

Tumorigenic
Having the capacity to produce spherical collections of cancer cells.

UV-A and UV-B Rays
Different wavelengths of ultraviolet light. Both are implicated in skin cancer, skin aging, and sunburn.

Vemurafenib

Commercial name for the BRAF therapy,  PLX4032

Vertical Growth Phase
Step in the development of melanoma in which the disease shows evidence of growth as a lump in the dermis (see tumorigenic, above). This phase of melanoma may metastasize.

Yervoy  Commercial name for Ipilimumbab (IPI) or anti-CTLA 4  (See Anti-CTLA 4)

Wide Local Excision (WLE)
Re-excision of the primary site after the biopsy results have been interpreted.

SOURCE: Poole, Catherine, Guerry, DuPont, M.D.,  Melanoma Prevention Detection and Treatment, New Haven:  Yale University Press, 2005.  

UPDATE: June 6, 2011