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)

‘Co-rounding’ decreases patient length of stay

BOSTON – When a palliative care oncologist partners with a medical oncologist on everyday rounds and in everyday practice on an inpatient floor, both patients and the clinicians who provide their...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

Colorectal cancer on the increase in young adults

Colorectal cancer rates have declined in both men and women since 1975, particularly in those over age 75 years, but there has also been a significant increase in the incidence among those aged 20-34...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

CDC: More can be done to prevent cervical cancer fatalities

Close to 8 million women aged 21-65 years were not screened for cervical cancer in the past 5 years even though the disease claims nearly 4,000 lives per year, according to 2012 data, the Centers for...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

‘Chemo brain’ may have targetable causes

BOSTON – The risk for cognitive decline following cancer treatment varies by both cancer and therapy types, and can range from subtle changes to severe deficits, according to a researcher. Patients...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

ROR score aids prognosis after 5 years on tamoxifen

The risk of recurrence (ROR) score provides clinically meaningful prognostic information after postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer complete 5 years of tamoxifen therapy, according to...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

Postdiagnosis imaging common in thyroid cancer

CORONADO, CALIF.– Today’s clinicians are ordering more postdiagnosis imaging tests in patients with thyroid cancer than they did in the early 1990s, results from the largest study of its kind...

Field of Interest: Oncology
Type: News Item

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