Image of husband supporting wife Image of husband supporting wife

Glossary

A full list of terms from throughout the site.

Acute

When symptoms or signs start fast and quickly worsen.

AML

Acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Blood disorder

Any condition that impacts the blood and prevents parts of your blood from doing their jobs.

Bloodstream

The flowing blood in a circulatory system in a person.

Bone marrow

Tissue found in the center of most bones that is made up of blood-forming cells, fat cells, and supporting tissues.

Chemotherapy

The use of medicines or drugs to treat cancer.

Complete remission

When all signs of cancer disappear as a result of a treatment. Complete remission does not always mean that the cancer has been cured.

ECG

Short for ”electrocardiogram,” this test measures the electrical activity in your heart, including your heartbeat.

FLT3

One of the genes found in healthy blood cells that helps those blood cells develop. Pronounced “flit three.”

FLT3-ITD+ AML

The acronym commonly used when referring to AML that has a FLT3-ITD mutation.

Gene

A piece of DNA that may include information for making a specific protein, which is a blueprint for building cells in your body.

Genetic syndrome

A disorder that occurs when a mutation affects your genes. Certain genetic syndromes can also be risk factors for AML, including certain types of anemia, Bloom syndrome, Ataxia-telangiectasia, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Neurofibromatosis type 1, or severe congenital neutropenia.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant

A medical procedure that replaces cancerous blood cells with healthy blood cells.

ITD

An acronym for “internal tandem duplication,” ITD is the most common type of mutation in FLT3 that causes AML.

Leukemia

A type of cancer that starts in blood-forming cells of tissue like bone marrow.

Maintenance therapy

The third phase of treatment that is given in low doses for months or even years.

Median

In complete remission, the middle number of months that people stayed in remission for all people who participated in the study. People may have been in complete remission longer or shorter than the median.

Mutation

A change in the genes that causes leukemia cells to grow and multiply.

Overall survival

The number of people who are still alive for a certain amount of time after starting a treatment.

Placebo

A treatment that is designed to have no therapeutic value, such as a sugar pill. A placebo helps to measure how effective medicines are.

Prognosis

The expected course of a disease, including response to treatment and chance for recovery.

Radiation therapy

A type of cancer treatment that damages cells by destroying their genetic material to stop them from growing and dividing.

Risk factor

A variable linked with a higher risk of disease or infection.