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NHL Cyberfamily

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma support

 

Abbreviations and acronyms

 

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Below is a list of frequently used and commonly understood acronyms which are used on our support list and many other on-line lymphoma forums.

Link to Chemotherapy protocol acronyms 

Link to common Medical abstract abbreviations

Link to Oncology group acronyms

Link to acronyms about remission status

  • AFIP - Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (no longer exists) (Washington DC)
  • ALLO - Allogeneic (A type of transplant where someone donates the stem cells or bone marrow)
  • AUTO - Autologous (A type of transplant where the patient donates their own stem cells or bone marrow)
  • BMB - Bone Marrow Biopsy
  • BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR is also a chemotherapy protocol)
  • BMT - Bone Marrow Transplant
  • BTW - By The Way
  • CBC - Complete Blood Count
  • CHEMO - Chemotherapy
  • CINV - Chemotherapy Induced Vomiting and Nausea
  • CLL - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (see also SLL which is the same disease)
  • CNS - Central Nervous System
  • CR - Complete Remission
  • CSF - Cerebral-Spinal Fluid
  • DIFF or Differential - a count of all the individual white blood types not just a total count. (Done during a CBC)
  • DLI - Donor Leukocyte Infusion (or Donor Lymphocyte Infusion)
  • DX - Diagnosis
  • ENT - Ears Nose and Throat specialist
  • FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
  • FIL - Father-in-law (MIL mother-in-law)
  • FISH - Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization A process which vividly paints chromosomes or portions of chromosomes with fluorescent molecules. This technique is useful for identifying chromosomal abnormalities and gene mapping
  • fNHL - Follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
  • FYI - For Your Information
  • G-CSF - Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (stimulates white blood production)
  • GM-CSF - Granulocyte Macrophage colony stimulating factor
  • GVHD - Graft Versus Host Disease
  • HAMA - Human Anti-Mouse Antibody
  • HEMONC - Haematologist/Oncologist
  • IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
  • IMO - In My Opinion
  • LDH - Lactate Dehydrogenase
  • LOL - Laughing Out Loud
  • MDA - MD Anderson cancer centre in Texas
  • MALT - Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (a type of  lymphoma of mucous producing tissues)
  • MOAB - Monoclonal Antibody (Drugs like Rituxan, Zevalin, Bexxar, Lymphocide etc)
  • MSK - Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer centre in New York. 
  • MUD - Matched Unrelated Donor (a type of allogeneic transplant with a donor not related to patient)
  • NED - No Evidence of Disease
  • ONC - Oncologist
  • PBSCT - Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (see also SCT)
  • PCR - Polymerase Chain Reaction (a method for growing vast quantities of DNA from as little as a single cell so it can be tested)
  • PICC - Peripherally inserted central catheter
  • PMH - Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto 
  • PR - Partial Remission
  • PTLD - Post Transplantation Lymphoproliferaltive Disorder (getting NHL after an organ transplant)
  • RIT - Radio Immuno Therapy (radioactive antibodies)
  • ROTFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing
  • RX - Prescription
  • SCT - Stem Cell Transplant (same thing as PBSCT)
  • SLL - Small lymphocytic lymphoma (see also CLL which is the same disease)
  • SO - Significant Other
  • TBI - Total body irradiation (often used as part of a transplant)
  • TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition
  • TX - Treatment
  • WBC - White Blood Count
  • WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

Oncology group acronyms

  • GLSG: German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group
  • GOELAMS: Groupe Ouest Est des Leucemies et des Autres Maladies du Sang  (Western and Eastern Group of Leukaemias and Other Blood Diseases)
  • DSHNHL: German High Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Group
  • SWOG: South Western Oncology Group
  • CALGA: Cancer and Leukemia Group A
  • CALGB: Cancer and Leukemia Group B
  • GELA: Groupe d'Etude des Lymphomes de l'Adulte
  • ECOG: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
  • EORTC: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
  • GELCAB: Grup per l'Estudi dels Limfomes de Catalunya i Balears
     

Common abbreviations used in medical abstracts

  • FFS - Failure free survival 
  • EFS - Event free survival (something bad happened, not necessarily NHL) 
  • OS - Overall Survival (% alive at some given endpoint)
  • ORR or OR - Overall Response Rate (% of people who had any response) 
  • TTF - Time to Failure (Time until failure occurred, NHL returned or therapy stopped working)
  • TTP - Time to progression, same as above
  • PFS - Progression Free Survival (Time until NHL came back) 
  • CR - Complete response (or complete remission) 
  • CRu - Complete response unconfirmed. 
  • PR - Partial response ( >50% reduction) 
  • TRM - Transplant Related Mortality
  • QOL - Quality of Life 
  • CI - Confidence Interval (how sure are they their results are accurate)