A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Paclitaxel: A chemotherapeutic agent, which is approved for treatment of some cancers and currently under investigation for treatment of metastatic melanoma. It belongs to a class of drugs called taxanes. Also known as Taxol.
Palliation: The relief of disease symptoms.
Palpate: To examine by pressing on the surface of the body to feel the organs or tissues underneath.
Papillary dermis: the upper part of dermis, made up of loose connective tissue.
Pathologist: A doctor who specializes in identifiying diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope.
Pegylated (PEG) interferon: A new form of long-acting interferon that has been FDA- approved for treatment of viral hepatitis and is being investigated for the treatment of advanced and high-risk melanoma.
Peptide vaccine: Vaccine in which antigens are produced from synthetic peptides and transported through the bloodstream by an adjuvant, in order to stimulate an immune response.
Peptides: Combinations of amino acids. Peptides combine to make proteins, including antigens.
Phase I trial: Clinical trial conducted to find the safest dose and most effective way to give a new cancer treatment to patients, as well as identify potential side effects. Phase I trials are usually limited to a small number of patients who would not be helped by other known treatments.
Phase II trial: Clinical trial conducted to test how well a new cancer treatment works against a certain type of cancer.
Phase III trial: Clinical trial conducted to compare the new cancer treatment to the standard (accepted) treatment to discover which treatment is more effective. Phase III trials involve large numbers of patients who are assigned at random to receive the either the new treatment or the standard treatment. In most cases, studies move into phase III only after a treatment seems to work in phases I and II.
Pheomelanin: a red-yellow form of pigment characteristically found in fair-skinned, red-headed people.
Photosensitivity: Sensitivity to the sun and the effects of ultraviolet radiation.
Pigment: A substance that gives color to tissue. Pigments are responsible for the color of skin, eyes, and hair.
Placebo: A substance that looks the same as, and is administered in the same way as, a drug in a clinical trial, but does not contain any active ingredients.
Plasma cells: large immune cells that produce millions of antibodies identical to those on the parent B cell that stimulates their production.
Positive: Describing a tissue sample in which cancer cells are found.
Prevalence: Percentage of a population that is affected with a particular disease at a given time.
Primary lesion (primary tumor): The original tumor.
Primary site: The part of the body where a cancer first appears.
Procarbazine: A chemotherapeutic agent sometimes used in the treatment of pediatric cancers including melanoma.
Prognosis: A prediction of the probable course of the disease.
Punch biopsy: A type of incisional biopsy in which the doctor removes a portion of a suspicious lesion by rotating a cookie cutter-like tool down through the full thickness of the skin to the underlying fat.