Oncology (from the Ancient Greek onkos (ὄγκος), meaning bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix -logy (-λογία), meaning "study of") is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist.

Oncology is concerned with:

The diagnosis of any cancer in a person
Therapy (e.g. surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other modalities)
Follow-up of cancer patients after successful treatment
Palliative care of patients with terminal malignancies
Ethical questions surrounding cancer care
Screening efforts:

of populations, or
of the relatives of patients (in types of cancer that are thought to have a hereditary basis, such as breast cancer)

Specialists drive overtreatment of low-risk prostate cancer

Low-risk prostate cancer in older men is still being overtreated, according to two separate studies that examined the issue from different perspectives, both of which were published online July 14 in...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

Screen for Barrett’s in all with central obesity?

CHICAGO – The prevalence of erosive esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus is comparable in individuals regardless of whether they have gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, according to a population-based...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

Intervention ups annual FOBT screening to 82%

An inexpensive telephone intervention raised the rate of annual colorectal cancer screening using fecal occult blood testing to 82% in an underserved population at particular risk for poor health,...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

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