Hematology and Oncology Abbreviations
144 abbreviations · part of Medical Abbreviations
Abbreviations for blood disorders, clotting and bleeding conditions, leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma and solid tumors, together with cancer staging, treatment response criteria, transfusion products, stem cell transplantation, tumor biomarkers and named chemotherapy regimens. They are used in hematology and oncology clinic notes, pathology reports, tumor boards, infusion center orders and clinical trial documents. Regimen acronyms are built from drug names, often brand names (the O in CHOP is Oncovin), so orders should always list each drug and dose in full.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 7+3 | Seven days of cytarabine plus three days of an anthracycline | Standard intensive induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia, combining continuous cytarabine infusion for seven days with daunorubicin or idarubicin on three… |
| ABVD | Adriamycin (doxorubicin), bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine | Standard chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, given intravenously on days 1 and 15 of each 28-day cycle. |
| AC-T | Adriamycin (doxorubicin) and cyclophosphamide followed by Taxol (paclitaxel) | Breast cancer chemotherapy regimen given before or after surgery: four cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel, either weekly or every two… |
| ADAMTS13 | A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 | Plasma enzyme that cuts large von Willebrand factor multimers into smaller pieces, preventing excessive platelet clumping. |
| ADC | Antibody-drug conjugate | Targeted cancer drug made of a monoclonal antibody linked to a potent chemotherapy payload, which delivers the toxin mainly to cells expressing the target protein. |
| AFP | Alpha-fetoprotein | Protein produced by the fetal liver and yolk sac and measured as a tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis and ovary. |
| AIHA | Autoimmune hemolytic anemia | Anemia caused by antibodies that attack the body's own red blood cells. |
| AJCC | American Joint Committee on Cancer | Organization that publishes the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, the standard reference for TNM cancer staging in the United States. |
| ALK | Anaplastic lymphoma kinase | Tyrosine kinase gene whose rearrangements drive about 3 to 5 percent of non-small cell lung cancers, typically adenocarcinomas in younger people who never smoked. |
| ALL | Acute lymphoblastic leukemia | Fast-growing cancer of immature lymphocytes in the bone marrow, the most common cancer in children, with a peak between ages 2 and 5. |
| AML | Acute myeloid leukemia | Aggressive cancer of immature myeloid cells that rapidly crowds out normal blood production, causing anemia, infections and bleeding. |
| APL | Acute promyelocytic leukemia | Subtype of acute myeloid leukemia caused by the t(15;17) translocation that creates the PML-RARA fusion gene. |
| ASCO | American Society of Clinical Oncology | Professional organization for oncologists and cancer care professionals, publishing guidelines and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. |
| ASCT | Autologous stem cell transplant | Procedure in which a patient's own blood stem cells are collected and frozen, high-dose chemotherapy is given, and the cells are reinfused to rescue the bone marrow. |
| ASH | American Society of Hematology | Professional society for hematologists, focused on blood disorders such as anemias, bleeding and clotting disorders and blood cancers. |
| BCR-ABL | Breakpoint cluster region-Abelson fusion gene | Cancer-causing fusion gene formed by the Philadelphia chromosome, producing a constantly active tyrosine kinase that drives chronic myeloid leukemia and some acute… |
| BEP | Bleomycin, etoposide, Platinol (cisplatin) | Standard chemotherapy for testicular and other germ cell tumors, given in 21-day cycles, typically three or four cycles depending on risk group. |
| BMT | Bone marrow transplant | Infusion of healthy blood-forming stem cells to replace diseased or destroyed bone marrow, used for leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma, aplastic anemia and some inherited… |
| BRAF | B-Raf proto-oncogene | Gene encoding a signaling kinase whose V600E mutation drives about half of melanomas and smaller shares of colorectal, thyroid and lung cancers, and nearly all hairy… |
| BRCA | Breast cancer gene | Refers to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumor suppressor genes, which help repair damaged DNA. |
| Ca | Cancer (carcinoma) | Charting shorthand for cancer or carcinoma, usually combined with the organ involved, as in "breast Ca" or "Ca colon." Carcinoma specifically refers to cancer arising… |
| CA 19-9 | Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 | Tumor marker measured in blood, mainly in pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancers, to support diagnosis, gauge prognosis and monitor response to treatment. |
| CA-125 | Cancer antigen 125 | Blood protein used as a tumor marker for epithelial ovarian cancer, helping evaluate pelvic masses, monitor treatment response and detect recurrence. |
| CAPOX | Capecitabine and oxaliplatin | Chemotherapy combination using oral capecitabine twice daily for 14 days with intravenous oxaliplatin every three weeks, used for colorectal and stomach cancers as an… |
| CAR-T | Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy | Personalized immunotherapy in which a patient's T cells are collected, genetically engineered to recognize a cancer target such as CD19 or BCMA, expanded and infused… |
| CAT | Cancer-associated thrombosis | Venous or arterial blood clots occurring in people with active cancer, which raises clotting risk through tumor products, chemotherapy, surgery, central lines and… |
| CEA | Carcinoembryonic antigen | Protein measured in blood as a tumor marker, mainly to monitor colorectal cancer after surgery and during treatment of metastatic disease. |
| chemo | Chemotherapy | Treatment of cancer with drugs that kill rapidly dividing cells, given intravenously, orally or by injection into body cavities, usually in cycles with rest periods… |
| CHOP | Cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin (doxorubicin), Oncovin (vincristine), prednisone | Combination chemotherapy regimen for non-Hodgkin lymphoma developed in the 1970s, still used for T-cell lymphomas and as the backbone of R-CHOP for B-cell lymphomas. |
| CLL | Chronic lymphocytic leukemia | Slow-growing cancer of mature-appearing B lymphocytes, the most common leukemia in adults in Western countries, usually diagnosed after age 60, often on routine blood… |
| CML | Chronic myeloid leukemia | Myeloproliferative neoplasm driven by the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene, causing a very high white blood cell count, often with an enlarged spleen, fatigue and night sweats. |
| CR | Complete response | Disappearance of all signs of cancer in response to treatment. |
| CRAB | Hypercalcemia, renal insufficiency, anemia, bone lesions | Mnemonic for the four classic signs of end-organ damage that define active multiple myeloma: high calcium, kidney dysfunction, anemia and lytic bone lesions. |
| CRS | Cytokine release syndrome | Systemic inflammatory reaction caused by a surge of cytokines after immune therapies such as CAR-T cells and bispecific antibodies, ranging from fever and fatigue to… |
| Cryo | Cryoprecipitate | Blood product made by slowly thawing fresh frozen plasma and collecting the cold-insoluble precipitate, rich in fibrinogen, factor VIII, von Willebrand factor and… |
| CTCAE | Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events | Standardized grading system published by the US National Cancer Institute for describing side effects of cancer treatment, from grade 1 (mild) to grade 5 (death related… |
| ctDNA | Circulating tumor DNA | Fragments of DNA shed by cancer cells into the bloodstream, analyzed in a "liquid biopsy" to identify targetable mutations, track treatment response and detect minimal… |
| CTLA-4 | Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 | Inhibitory receptor on T cells that dampens their activation at an early stage, acting as an immune checkpoint. |
| CUP | Cancer of unknown primary | Metastatic cancer for which a thorough evaluation cannot identify the organ where it began, accounting for an estimated 2 to 5 percent of cancers. |
| DCIS | Ductal carcinoma in situ | Noninvasive breast cancer in which abnormal cells are confined to the milk ducts and have not spread into surrounding tissue (stage 0). |
| DFS | Disease-free survival | Time after curative treatment, such as surgery, until the cancer recurs or the patient dies. |
| DIC | Disseminated intravascular coagulation | Widespread activation of clotting throughout the body that consumes platelets and clotting factors, causing both small-vessel clots and bleeding from many sites. |
| DLBCL | Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma | Most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, accounting for about 30 percent of cases, an aggressive B-cell cancer that grows quickly in lymph nodes or other organs. |
| dMMR | Mismatch repair deficient | Tumor that has lost function of one or more DNA mismatch repair proteins (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 or PMS2), shown by absent staining on immunohistochemistry. |
| EBRT | External beam radiation therapy | Radiation delivered from a machine outside the body, usually a linear accelerator, aimed at the tumor from several angles. |
| ECOG | Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group | Cancer research group whose performance status scale rates how a patient's disease affects daily functioning, from 0 (fully active) to 5 (dead). |
| EFS | Event-free survival | Time from the start of treatment until any of a defined set of events, such as disease progression that prevents surgery, recurrence after surgery, failure to achieve… |
| EGFR | Epidermal growth factor receptor | Cell surface receptor tyrosine kinase that drives growth signals; activating EGFR mutations are found in about 15 percent of lung adenocarcinomas in Western patients… |
| ER | Estrogen receptor | Protein inside breast cancer cells that binds estrogen and drives growth; tumors with 1 percent or more of cells staining positive are classified as ER-positive. |
| ET | Essential thrombocythemia | Myeloproliferative neoplasm in which the bone marrow produces too many platelets, with a count of 450,000 per microliter or more. |
| FFP | Fresh frozen plasma | Plasma separated from donated blood and frozen within hours, containing all clotting factors. |
| FISH | Fluorescence in situ hybridization | Laboratory technique that uses fluorescent DNA probes to detect specific genes or chromosome regions in cells, revealing gene amplifications, deletions and… |
| FL | Follicular lymphoma | Slow-growing (indolent) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the second most common lymphoma, characterized by the t(14;18) translocation that switches on the BCL2 gene. |
| FLOT | Fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel | Perioperative chemotherapy regimen for operable stomach and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, given every two weeks for four cycles before surgery and four after. |
| FN | Febrile neutropenia | Fever of 38.3 degrees Celsius or higher, or 38.0 sustained for an hour, in a patient whose absolute neutrophil count is below 500 per microliter or expected to fall… |
| FOLFIRI | Folinic acid (leucovorin), fluorouracil, irinotecan | Chemotherapy regimen for metastatic colorectal cancer, often used first-line or after FOLFOX, typically combined with bevacizumab, cetuximab or panitumumab depending on… |
| FOLFIRINOX | Folinic acid, fluorouracil, irinotecan, oxaliplatin | Intensive four-drug chemotherapy regimen for pancreatic cancer in patients with good performance status, used for metastatic disease, after surgery and before surgery… |
| FOLFOX | Folinic acid (leucovorin), fluorouracil, oxaliplatin | Combination chemotherapy for colorectal cancer, both after surgery for stage III disease and for metastatic disease, and also used in stomach, esophageal and pancreatic… |
| FVL | Factor V Leiden | Most common inherited predisposition to blood clots in people of European ancestry, a single gene variant that makes clotting factor V resistant to inactivation by… |
| G6PD | Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase | Enzyme that protects red blood cells from oxidative damage; its inherited deficiency, the most common human enzyme deficiency, affects an estimated 400 million people… |
| GBM | Glioblastoma multiforme | Most common and aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in adults, growing rapidly and infiltrating surrounding brain so that complete removal is impossible. |
| GVHD | Graft-versus-host disease | Complication of allogeneic stem cell transplant in which donor immune cells attack the recipient's tissues. |
| HbS | Hemoglobin S | Abnormal hemoglobin produced by a single DNA change that replaces glutamic acid with valine at position 6 of the beta-globin chain. |
| HCT | Hematopoietic cell transplantation | Term preferred by transplant research organizations, such as the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, for the same procedure known as stem… |
| HD | Hodgkin disease | Older name for Hodgkin lymphoma, used before the disease was firmly established as a cancer of B lymphocytes. |
| HER2 | Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 | Growth-promoting protein that is overproduced in about 15 to 20 percent of breast cancers and some stomach, esophageal and other cancers, making them more aggressive… |
| HIT | Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia | Immune reaction to heparin in which antibodies against platelet factor 4-heparin complexes activate platelets, causing the platelet count to fall by more than 50… |
| HL | Hodgkin lymphoma | Lymphoma defined by large abnormal Reed-Sternberg cells among inflammatory cells, typically presenting as painless lymph node enlargement in the neck or chest. |
| HLA | Human leukocyte antigen | Proteins on the surface of most cells that let the immune system distinguish self from non-self, encoded by highly variable genes on chromosome 6. |
| HLH | Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis | Life-threatening syndrome of uncontrolled immune activation in which overactive T cells and macrophages cause persistent fever, enlarged spleen, falling blood counts… |
| HNSCC | Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | Cancers arising from the lining of the mouth, throat (pharynx), voice box (larynx) and nasal cavity, most caused by tobacco and alcohol or, increasingly in the… |
| HR+ | Hormone receptor-positive | Breast cancer whose cells express estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors or both, the most common breast cancer subtype. |
| HS | Hereditary spherocytosis | Inherited red cell membrane disorder in which defects in proteins such as spectrin and ankyrin make red cells small, round and fragile, so the spleen destroys them. |
| HSCT | Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation | Transplant of blood-forming stem cells from the patient (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic), collected from bone marrow, peripheral blood or umbilical cord blood. |
| Hyper-CVAD | Hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, Adriamycin (doxorubicin), dexamethasone | Intensive chemotherapy regimen for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Burkitt lymphoma and some mantle cell lymphomas, alternating course A (Hyper-CVAD) with course B… |
| ICANS | Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome | Neurological complication of CAR-T cells and some bispecific antibodies, causing confusion, word-finding difficulty, tremor, impaired handwriting, seizures and, rarely… |
| ICI | Immune checkpoint inhibitor | Monoclonal antibodies that release the brakes on the immune system so T cells attack cancer, targeting PD-1 (pembrolizumab, nivolumab), PD-L1 (atezolizumab, durvalumab)… |
| IDA | Iron deficiency anemia | Most common type of anemia worldwide, caused by insufficient iron for hemoglobin production, producing small, pale red cells and low ferritin. |
| IDC | Invasive ductal carcinoma | Most common type of breast cancer, accounting for about 70 to 80 percent of invasive cases, beginning in a milk duct and invading the surrounding breast tissue, from… |
| IMRT | Intensity-modulated radiation therapy | Advanced external beam radiation technique that varies the intensity of many small beamlets using computer-controlled collimators, shaping dose tightly around complex… |
| irAE | Immune-related adverse event | Inflammatory side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, in which the activated immune system attacks normal organs. |
| ITP | Immune thrombocytopenia | Autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy platelets and impair their production, causing a platelet count below 100,000 per microliter with bruising, pinpoint… |
| JAK2 | Janus kinase 2 | Signaling enzyme that relays growth signals from cytokine receptors inside blood-forming cells. |
| KPS | Karnofsky Performance Status | Scale from 100 (normal, no complaints) to 0 (dead), in steps of 10, describing a patient's ability to carry out normal activities, work and self-care. |
| KRAS | Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog | One of the most frequently mutated cancer genes, found in about 90 percent of pancreatic cancers, roughly 40 percent of colorectal cancers and about a quarter of lung… |
| LA | Lupus anticoagulant | Antiphospholipid antibody that paradoxically prolongs clotting tests in the laboratory while increasing the risk of blood clots and pregnancy loss in the body. |
| MAHA | Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia | Hemolytic anemia in which red cells are torn apart as they pass through small vessels clogged with clots or damaged lining, leaving fragmented cells (schistocytes) on… |
| MCL | Mantle cell lymphoma | B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma marked by the t(11;14) translocation that overproduces cyclin D1. |
| mCRPC | Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer | Advanced prostate cancer that has spread and keeps growing despite testosterone being suppressed to castrate levels (below 50 ng/dL) by hormone therapy. |
| MDS | Myelodysplastic syndrome | Group of clonal bone marrow cancers in which blood cells form abnormally and die early, causing low blood counts, fatigue, infections and bleeding. |
| mets | Metastases | Shorthand for cancer that has spread from its original site to distant parts of the body, such as the liver, lungs, bones or brain. |
| MGUS | Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance | Common premalignant condition in which plasma cells produce a small amount of an abnormal antibody (M-protein), below 3 g/dL, with fewer than 10 percent plasma cells in… |
| MM | Multiple myeloma | Cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow that produces abnormal antibodies, causing bone lesions and fractures, anemia, kidney damage, high calcium and infections. |
| MPN | Myeloproliferative neoplasm | Group of chronic blood cancers in which the bone marrow overproduces one or more types of blood cells, including polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, primary… |
| MRD | Minimal residual disease | Small number of cancer cells remaining after treatment, below the level detectable by standard microscopy, measured with sensitive flow cytometry, PCR or… |
| MSI-H | Microsatellite instability-high | Tumor feature in which repetitive DNA sequences (microsatellites) vary widely in length because the mismatch repair system is broken. |
| NCCN | National Comprehensive Cancer Network | Alliance of leading US cancer centers that publishes the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology, the most widely used cancer treatment guidelines in the United… |
| NCI | National Cancer Institute | Principal US federal agency for cancer research and training, part of the National Institutes of Health. |
| NED | No evidence of disease | Status in which tests and examinations show no detectable cancer after treatment. |
| NET | Neuroendocrine tumor | Tumor arising from hormone-producing neuroendocrine cells, most often in the small intestine, pancreas, rectum, appendix or lungs. |
| NGS | Next-generation sequencing | Family of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies that read millions to billions of short DNA fragments in parallel, replacing one-at-a-time Sanger sequencing for… |
| NHL | Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Diverse group of more than 60 cancers of lymphocytes, ranging from slow-growing (indolent) types such as follicular lymphoma to aggressive types such as diffuse large… |
| NSCLC | Non-small cell lung cancer | Group of lung cancers, mainly adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, accounting for about 85 percent of lung cancers. |
| ORR | Objective response rate | Proportion of patients whose tumors shrink by a predefined amount, the sum of complete and partial responses under criteria such as RECIST. |
| OS | Overall survival | Length of time from randomization or diagnosis until death from any cause, considered the gold-standard end point in cancer clinical trials. |
| PCI | Prophylactic cranial irradiation | Low-dose radiation to the whole brain given to patients without detectable brain metastases to prevent future brain relapse, used mainly in small cell lung cancer that… |
| pCR | Pathologic complete response | Absence of residual invasive cancer in the surgical specimen, both breast or primary site and lymph nodes, after treatment given before surgery (neoadjuvant therapy). |
| PD | Progressive disease | Cancer growth or spread during or after treatment, defined under RECIST 1.1 as at least a 20 percent increase in the sum of target lesion diameters (and at least 5 mm… |
| PD-1 | Programmed cell death protein 1 | Checkpoint receptor on activated T cells that switches off their activity when it binds PD-L1 or PD-L2, a mechanism tumors exploit to evade immune attack. |
| PD-L1 | Programmed death-ligand 1 | Protein expressed on some tumor cells and immune cells that binds PD-1 on T cells to suppress immune attack. |
| PFS | Progression-free survival | Time from randomization or the start of treatment until the cancer grows or spreads, or the patient dies, whichever comes first. |
| Ph | Philadelphia chromosome | Shortened chromosome 22 created by a swap of genetic material between chromosomes 9 and 22, t(9;22), which forms the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene. |
| PMF | Primary myelofibrosis | Myeloproliferative neoplasm in which bone marrow is progressively replaced by scar tissue, forcing blood production into the spleen and liver. |
| PNH | Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria | Rare acquired disorder in which blood stem cells lose surface proteins that protect red cells from complement, leading to hemolysis, dark urine (often in the morning)… |
| PR | Partial response | Meaningful tumor shrinkage short of complete disappearance, defined under RECIST 1.1 as at least a 30 percent decrease in the sum of the diameters of target lesions… |
| PRBC | Packed red blood cells | Red blood cells separated from whole blood with most plasma removed, the blood product transfused for anemia or bleeding. |
| PS | Performance status | Measure of a person's general level of functioning and ability to carry out daily activities, used in oncology to estimate prognosis and tolerance of treatment. |
| PTLD | Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder | Spectrum of lymphoid growths, from benign proliferations to aggressive lymphoma, that develop after solid organ or stem cell transplantation because of immunosuppression. |
| PV | Polycythemia vera | Myeloproliferative neoplasm causing overproduction of red blood cells, often with high white cells and platelets, driven by a JAK2 mutation in about 95 percent of… |
| R-CHOP | Rituximab, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin (doxorubicin), Oncovin (vincristine), prednisone | Standard chemoimmunotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and other aggressive B-cell lymphomas, usually given every 21 days for six cycles. |
| RECIST | Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors | Standardized rules for measuring how solid tumors respond to treatment on CT or MRI, used in nearly all cancer clinical trials. |
| RT | Radiation therapy | Use of high-energy radiation, mostly X-rays (photons), to destroy cancer cells, delivered from outside the body or by radioactive sources placed inside it. |
| SBRT | Stereotactic body radiation therapy | Highly precise radiation that delivers very high doses to small tumors outside the brain in one to five sessions, using image guidance and motion management. |
| SCA | Sickle cell anemia | Most severe common form of sickle cell disease, in which a person inherits two copies of the sickle hemoglobin gene (HbSS) or HbS with beta-zero thalassemia. |
| SCD | Sickle cell disease | Group of inherited red blood cell disorders, including HbSS, HbSC and sickle beta-thalassemia, in which abnormal hemoglobin S makes red cells rigid and sickle-shaped. |
| SCLC | Small cell lung cancer | Aggressive neuroendocrine lung cancer making up about 13 to 15 percent of lung cancers, almost always linked to heavy smoking. |
| SCT | Sickle cell trait | Carrier state in which a person inherits one sickle hemoglobin gene and one normal gene, usually causing no symptoms. |
| SD | Stable disease | Tumor response category in which cancer has neither shrunk enough to qualify as a partial response nor grown enough to meet the threshold for progression, under… |
| SEER | Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program | National Cancer Institute program that collects and publishes cancer incidence, stage, treatment and survival data from population-based registries covering nearly half… |
| TACO | Transfusion-associated circulatory overload | Pulmonary edema caused by transfusing blood products faster or in greater volume than the circulation can handle, typically in older adults or patients with heart or… |
| TKI | Tyrosine kinase inhibitor | Small-molecule targeted cancer drugs, with generic names ending in "-tinib", that block overactive signaling enzymes, such as imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia and… |
| TLS | Tumor lysis syndrome | Metabolic emergency caused by rapid breakdown of cancer cells, typically after starting treatment for fast-growing cancers, releasing potassium, phosphate and uric acid… |
| TMA | Thrombotic microangiopathy | Umbrella term for disorders in which small blood vessels are damaged and blocked by clots, producing microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, low platelets and organ injury… |
| TMB | Tumor mutational burden | Number of DNA mutations per megabase of a tumor's genome, measured by next-generation sequencing. |
| TNBC | Triple-negative breast cancer | Breast cancer that lacks estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and HER2 overexpression, so it does not respond to hormonal or HER2-targeted therapies. |
| TNM | Tumor, Node, Metastasis | International system for staging solid cancers, describing the size and extent of the primary tumor (T), spread to regional lymph nodes (N) and distant metastasis (M). |
| TRALI | Transfusion-related acute lung injury | Sudden noncardiogenic pulmonary edema causing severe low oxygen within six hours of a blood transfusion. |
| TTP | Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura | Life-threatening blood disorder caused by severe deficiency of ADAMTS13, the enzyme that trims von Willebrand factor, leading to platelet-rich clots in small vessels… |
| VRd | Velcade (bortezomib), Revlimid (lenalidomide), dexamethasone | Three-drug induction regimen for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, combining a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory drug and a steroid. |
| VTE | Venous thromboembolism | Umbrella term for blood clots in veins, covering deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. |
| VWD | Von Willebrand disease | Most common inherited bleeding disorder, caused by low levels or abnormal function of von Willebrand factor, the protein that helps platelets stick to injured vessels… |
| WBRT | Whole-brain radiation therapy | Radiation delivered to the entire brain, traditionally used for multiple brain metastases, leptomeningeal disease and as prophylaxis in some cancers. |
| WM | Waldenström macroglobulinemia | Slow-growing B-cell lymphoma (lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma) that produces large amounts of IgM antibody, which can thicken the blood. |
| XRT | Radiation therapy (X-ray therapy) | Older but still common abbreviation for radiation therapy, especially external beam treatment with X-rays, seen in medical histories, oncology notes and surgical records. |
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