Glossary

Brachyury: a protein which is a definitive diagnostic marker of chordoma.

Cancer: a disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. These abnormal cells have the potential to spread (metastasise) to other parts of the body.

Cell line: cells of a single type (human, animal, or plant) that have been adapted to grow continuously in the laboratory and are used in research.

Chemotherapy: the use of drugs to kill rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells, in the body. This type of treatment is used in many cancers.

Familial disease: a condition that tends to occur more often in family members than is expected by chance alone. A familial disease may be genetic (such as cystic fibrosis) or environmental (such as chicken pox).

Gene: a length of DNA which acts as a set of instructions to make molecules called proteins. Genes and DNA make up the blueprint of life that determines how the body develops, grows and functions.

Immunohistochemistry: a laboratory test that uses antibodies to test for certain antigens (markers) in a sample of tissue. The antibodies are usually linked to a fluorescent dye. When the antibodies bind to the antigen in the tissue sample, the dye is activated, and the antigen can then be seen under a microscope. Immunohistochemistry is used to help diagnose diseases such as cancer. It may also be used to help tell the difference between different types of cancer.

Metastasise: the way in which cancers can spread to other parts of the body.

Notochord: a flexible rod made out of a material similar to cartilage which supports the body during the development of an embryo in the womb.

Paediatric: the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents.

Prognosis: the likely course of a medical condition, such as whether a patient will recover from it.

Protein: an essential part of all living organisms, especially as structural components of body tissues such as muscle, hair, etc, and as enzymes and antibodies.

Radiotherapy: the use of controlled and targeted doses of high energy beams of charged particles to destroy cancer cells, which aims to cause as little damage as possible to surrounding healthy cells.