Common Oncological Care Procedures

Oncological Care Procedures

Use this glossary to explain common procedures patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals may hear when discussing cancer evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, side effects, supportive care, and follow-up.

Oncological care may include screening, diagnostic testing, biopsies, imaging, surgery, radiation therapy, medication treatment, vascular access, symptom management, rehabilitation, and survivorship care. The procedures used depend on the type and stage of cancer, the person’s overall health, biomarker results, treatment goals, preferences, and available services. Some procedures are performed by the oncology team, while others are coordinated with surgery, radiology, pathology, interventional services, or another specialty.

Initial evaluation and care planning

Oncology consultation: An evaluation with an oncology professional to review symptoms, test results, diagnosis, treatment options, goals, and next steps.
Cancer risk assessment: A review of personal history, family history, inherited risk, exposures, and other factors that may affect the chance of developing cancer.
Cancer screening: Testing people who do not have symptoms to look for certain cancers or precancerous changes.
Medical history and physical examination: Reviewing symptoms, health conditions, medications, family history, and prior treatment and examining the body to guide testing or treatment.
Multidisciplinary case review: A coordinated review of a person’s diagnosis and treatment options by healthcare professionals from multiple specialties.
Tumor board review: A structured multidisciplinary discussion of a cancer case to support diagnosis, staging, treatment planning, or another clinical decision.
Genetic counseling: Professional guidance about inherited cancer risk, genetic testing, possible results, and implications for the person and their family.
Genetic testing: Testing a blood, saliva, or other sample for inherited gene changes that may affect cancer risk or care.
Biomarker testing: Testing cancer cells or a blood sample for genes, proteins, or other markers that may help select treatment or predict response.
Second opinion: An evaluation by another healthcare professional to review a diagnosis, test results, prognosis, or treatment options.
Informed consent: The process of learning about a proposed procedure or treatment, including its purpose, benefits, risks, alternatives, and the option not to proceed, before agreeing to it.
Treatment planning: Developing an individualized plan that identifies the treatment approach, timing, goals, monitoring, side-effect management, and follow-up.

Diagnostic procedures and laboratory tests

Blood test: Laboratory testing of a blood sample to evaluate blood cells, organ function, electrolytes, inflammation, infection, or other health information.
Complete blood count (CBC): A blood test that measures red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, and related blood-cell information.
Blood chemistry test: A blood test that measures substances such as electrolytes, sugars, proteins, and enzymes to provide information about organ function and health.
Tumor marker test: Testing blood, urine, tissue, or another body fluid for substances produced by cancer cells or by other cells in response to cancer.
Liquid biopsy: Testing a blood sample for cancer cells or pieces of tumor DNA that may be released into the bloodstream.
Urinalysis: Testing urine for substances or abnormal cells that may help evaluate certain cancers or treatment-related concerns.
Cytology: Examining individual cells or groups of cells collected from body fluids, brushings, washings, or needle samples.
Immunophenotyping: Using antibodies to identify markers on cells, often in blood or bone marrow, to help diagnose and classify certain blood cancers.
Cytogenetic analysis: Examining chromosomes in a tissue, blood, bone marrow, or other sample to identify changes that may help diagnose or classify cancer.
Molecular testing: Laboratory testing for genetic or molecular changes in cancer cells to help classify the cancer or guide treatment.
Immunohistochemistry (IHC): A laboratory test that uses antibodies to identify specific proteins or markers in tissue.

Biopsy and pathology procedures

Biopsy: A procedure that removes a sample of abnormal tissue or cells so a pathologist can examine it for cancer.
Needle biopsy: Using a needle to remove tissue or fluid for examination. Examples include fine-needle aspiration and core needle biopsy.
Fine-needle aspiration (FNA): Using a thin needle to remove cells or fluid for examination under a microscope.
Core needle biopsy: Using a larger needle to remove a small cylinder of tissue for examination.
Image-guided biopsy: Using ultrasound, CT, MRI, or another imaging method to guide a needle to the area being sampled.
Excisional biopsy: Removing an entire abnormal area, often with some surrounding normal tissue, for examination.
Incisional biopsy: Removing only part of an abnormal area for examination.
Endoscopic biopsy: Removing tissue through an endoscope inserted into a natural body opening.
Bone marrow aspiration: Using a needle to remove a sample of the liquid portion of bone marrow for examination.
Bone marrow biopsy: Using a needle to remove a small core of solid bone marrow tissue for examination.
Pathology examination: Examining cells or tissue under a microscope and with laboratory tests to identify disease and describe cancer characteristics.
Pathology report: A report describing findings from a biopsy or surgical specimen, including the cancer type and characteristics that may guide treatment.
Histologic examination: Examining tissue to determine how cells and tissues are arranged and whether they show cancer.
Frozen section: A rapid pathology examination of tissue during surgery when an immediate result may help guide the procedure.
Surgical specimen examination: Examining tissue or an organ removed during surgery to determine whether cancer is present and how far it extends.

Imaging and staging procedures

Imaging: Creating pictures of areas inside the body to identify, locate, measure, stage, or monitor a tumor or other abnormality.
X-ray: An imaging test that uses a small amount of radiation to create pictures of the inside of the body.
Computed tomography (CT) scan: An imaging test that uses X-rays and computer processing to create detailed cross-sectional images of the body.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An imaging test that uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues.
Ultrasound: An imaging test that uses sound waves to create pictures of internal organs, tissues, blood vessels, or masses.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan: An imaging test that uses a radioactive tracer to create pictures of areas where cells are taking up the tracer, which may help identify active cancer.
Bone scan: A nuclear imaging test used to look for abnormal areas or damage in bones, including cancer that has spread to the bones.
Nuclear scan: An imaging procedure that uses a small amount of radioactive material, called a tracer, to create pictures of organs or tissues.
Contrast material: A substance given by mouth, injection, or another route during some imaging tests to make certain tissues or structures easier to see.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy: Removing and examining the first lymph node or group of lymph nodes to which cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary tumor.
Lymph node biopsy: Removing one or more lymph nodes to check for cancer cells.
Cancer staging: Using examinations, biopsies, imaging, laboratory tests, and other information to determine the extent of cancer.
Restaging: Repeating selected examinations or tests after treatment to evaluate the current extent of cancer or treatment response.

Cancer surgery and local procedures

Cancer surgery: An operation used to diagnose, remove, stage, reconstruct after, or manage cancer.
Resection: Surgical removal of part or all of a tumor or organ.
Excision: Removal of a tumor, lesion, or other area of abnormal tissue.
Tumor debulking: Removing as much of a tumor as safely possible when complete removal is not possible or is not the treatment goal.
Lymph node dissection: Removing a group of lymph nodes to examine or treat cancer that may have spread to them.
Lumpectomy: Surgery to remove a tumor or abnormal area from the breast while preserving most of the breast.
Mastectomy: Surgery to remove part or all of the breast.
Reconstructive surgery: Surgery to restore the appearance or function of a body part after cancer surgery or another treatment.
Ablation: A procedure that destroys or removes abnormal tissue using heat, cold, chemicals, or another type of energy.
Cryotherapy: Treatment that uses extreme cold to destroy abnormal tissue.
Laser therapy: Using focused light energy to destroy, remove, or treat abnormal tissue.
Embolization: Blocking blood flow to a tumor or other area with a substance delivered through a blood vessel.
Radiofrequency ablation: Using high-energy radio waves to heat and destroy selected abnormal tissue.
Microwave ablation: Using microwave energy to heat and destroy selected abnormal tissue.

Radiation and medication treatment procedures

Radiation therapy: Treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells, shrink tumors, or relieve symptoms.
Radiation simulation: A planning appointment that uses imaging and positioning to design how radiation will be delivered safely and accurately.
External beam radiation therapy: Delivering radiation from a machine outside the body toward the tumor or treatment area.
Brachytherapy: Placing a radioactive source in or near the area being treated so radiation is delivered from inside or close to the body.
Chemotherapy: Treatment with medicines that kill cancer cells or stop them from growing and dividing.
Oral chemotherapy: Taking anticancer medicine by mouth as a pill, capsule, or liquid.
Intravenous (IV) chemotherapy: Giving chemotherapy directly into a vein, often through a catheter or port.
Intrathecal chemotherapy: Injecting chemotherapy into the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
Intraperitoneal chemotherapy: Delivering chemotherapy into the peritoneal cavity, the space that contains many abdominal organs.
Intra-arterial therapy: Delivering treatment directly into the artery that supplies the cancer or treatment area.
Topical cancer therapy: Applying an anticancer medicine to the skin to treat selected skin cancers or precancerous areas.
Immunotherapy: Treatment that helps the immune system recognize or fight cancer.
Targeted therapy: Treatment that acts on specific changes in cancer cells that help them grow, divide, or spread.
Hormone therapy: Treatment that blocks or lowers hormones that some cancers need to grow.
Photodynamic therapy: Treatment that uses a drug activated by light to destroy cancer or other abnormal cells.
Hyperthermia: Treatment that heats selected body tissue to help damage or kill cancer cells, often with another treatment.
Combination therapy: Using two or more cancer treatments together or in sequence.
Neoadjuvant therapy: Treatment given before the main treatment, such as surgery, to shrink a tumor or reduce the extent of disease.
Adjuvant therapy: Additional treatment given after the primary treatment to reduce the risk that cancer will return.
Palliative treatment: Treatment intended to relieve symptoms, improve function, or increase comfort rather than cure the underlying cancer.

Vascular access and treatment delivery

Peripheral IV access: Placing a small, flexible catheter into a vein to give medication, fluids, blood products, or short-term treatment.
Central venous access: Placing a catheter into a large vein for medication, fluids, nutrition, blood products, frequent blood draws, or long-term treatment.
Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC): Inserting a long, flexible catheter into a vein and advancing it toward a large central vein for ongoing treatment.
Implanted port: Placing a small device under the skin that is connected to a catheter in a large vein and can be accessed repeatedly for treatment or blood draws.
Tunneled catheter: Placing a central venous catheter under the skin before it enters a large vein, often for longer-term treatment.
Catheter access: Inserting a sterile needle or connector into a port or catheter to give treatment or obtain a blood sample.
Infusion: Delivering medication, fluid, blood products, or another treatment slowly into a vein or another part of the body.
Infusion pump: A device that controls the amount and rate at which medication or fluid is delivered.
Premedication: Giving medication before a cancer treatment or procedure to reduce the chance or severity of selected side effects or reactions.
Extravasation management: Assessing and treating medication that has leaked from a vein into surrounding tissue during an infusion.
Catheter removal: Removing a vascular access device when it is no longer needed or when removal is clinically indicated.

Stem cell and blood-related procedures

Stem cell transplant: A procedure that restores blood-forming stem cells after high-dose chemotherapy or radiation has damaged or destroyed them.
Peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT): Infusing healthy blood-forming stem cells collected from the bloodstream of the person receiving treatment or a donor.
Autologous transplant: A stem cell transplant that uses the person’s own previously collected stem cells.
Allogeneic transplant: A stem cell transplant that uses blood-forming stem cells from a donor.
Stem cell collection: Collecting blood-forming stem cells from the bloodstream or bone marrow for later use in a transplant.
Apheresis: Using a machine to separate and collect a specific component of blood, such as stem cells, and return the remaining blood components to the person.
Blood transfusion: Giving red blood cells, platelets, plasma, or another blood component through an IV.
Platelet transfusion: Giving platelets to help prevent or treat bleeding when the platelet count is low or platelet function is impaired.
Therapeutic phlebotomy: Removing a measured amount of blood to treat selected conditions involving an excessive number of red blood cells or iron accumulation.
Leukapheresis: Using a blood-separation machine to remove excess white blood cells in selected urgent situations.
Plasmapheresis: Removing and replacing plasma from the blood to treat selected conditions involving harmful substances in the plasma.

Supportive and symptom-management procedures

Symptom assessment: Evaluating symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue, breathlessness, constipation, neuropathy, or sleep problems and their effect on daily life.
Pain management: Using medication, procedures, rehabilitation, psychological support, and other approaches to reduce cancer-related or treatment-related pain.
Antiemetic therapy: Giving medication to prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting.
Hydration therapy: Providing fluids by mouth, IV, or another route when hydration is expected to improve symptoms or support treatment.
Electrolyte replacement: Giving fluids or medication to correct an imbalance of substances such as sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium.
Growth factor therapy: Giving medication that helps stimulate the production of selected blood cells after or during cancer treatment when clinically indicated.
Neutropenia management: Monitoring and treating a low neutrophil count, including urgent evaluation of fever or infection symptoms.
Mucositis care: Assessing and treating mouth or digestive-tract inflammation and sores related to cancer or its treatment.
Nutrition assessment: Evaluating food intake, weight changes, hydration, swallowing, treatment effects, and nutritional needs.
Oncology rehabilitation: Physical, occupational, speech, nutritional, or other therapy to help a person recover function and manage the effects of cancer or treatment.
Fertility preservation: Collecting or protecting eggs, sperm, embryos, or reproductive tissue before treatment that may affect fertility.
Wound care: Cleaning, dressing, protecting, and monitoring a surgical wound, tumor-related wound, or treatment-related skin injury.
Lymphedema therapy: Using compression, exercise, manual techniques, skin care, and education to manage swelling caused by lymph-fluid buildup.
Paracentesis: Using a needle or catheter to remove fluid from the abdomen to relieve pressure, pain, nausea, or breathlessness, or to obtain fluid for testing.
Thoracentesis: Using a needle or catheter to remove fluid or air from the space around a lung to relieve breathlessness or chest discomfort.
Urinary catheterization: Inserting a flexible tube into the bladder to drain urine or relieve discomfort from urinary retention when clinically appropriate.
Palliative sedation: Carefully monitored use of medication to reduce awareness when severe suffering cannot be adequately relieved in another way. It is distinct from intentionally causing death.

Care planning, follow-up, and survivorship

Treatment response assessment: Using symptoms, physical examinations, laboratory tests, imaging, or pathology to evaluate how cancer has changed after treatment.
Surveillance: Regular examinations, tests, or imaging used to monitor for recurrence, progression, treatment effects, or a new cancer.
Recurrence monitoring: Follow-up evaluation intended to identify cancer that has returned after a period when it could not be detected or was considered controlled.
Survivorship care: Ongoing medical, emotional, rehabilitative, preventive, and social care after a cancer diagnosis, during treatment, or after treatment is completed.
Survivorship care plan: A plan that summarizes cancer treatment, possible late effects, recommended follow-up, health promotion, and care coordination.
Late-effect assessment: Evaluation for health problems that may appear months or years after cancer or its treatment.
Palliative care consultation: A review by a palliative care team to assess symptoms, support quality of life, clarify goals, and coordinate care. It may be provided with cancer-directed treatment.
Hospice referral: Connecting a person and their family or caregivers with hospice services when care is focused primarily on comfort and applicable eligibility requirements are met.
Care transition: Coordinating movement from one healthcare setting, provider, or phase of treatment to another.
Follow-up appointment: A planned visit to review symptoms, test results, treatment response, side effects, recovery, or next steps.
Return precautions: Specific warning signs that mean a person should contact the healthcare team or seek urgent medical care.

The exact procedures used in oncological care vary according to the type and stage of cancer, biomarker results, overall health, treatment goals, available services, and clinical judgment. Healthcare professionals should explain the purpose, expected benefits, possible risks, alternatives, and aftercare for a procedure whenever the situation allows.