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

• AFIP - Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (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  (Group Western of Leukaemias and Other Diseases of Blood)
• 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)