What is refractory cancer and how is it treated?
Refractory cancer is typically treated by second-line or third-line treatment, usually with a combination of more harsh drugs, or by enrollment in a clinical trial in which novel drugs are used. Newer technologies are evolving to help manage this difficult situation.
What does refractory mean in medical terms?
What does refractory mean in medical terms? In medicine, refractory describes a disease or condition which does not respond to attempted forms of treatment. A cancer is said to be refractory when it does not respond to (or is resistant to) cancer treatment.
What does treatment refractory mean?
The word “refractory” in general use means stubborn or intractable, and in medicine it is specifically applied to disease that does not respond to treatment. Refractory cancer refers to cancer that may be resistant at the beginning of treatment, or becomes resistant during treatment.
What does it mean to be refractory?
The refractory period is the span of time after having an orgasm during which a person is not sexually responsive. The refractory period can have both mental and physiological effects. During the refractory period, a person might lose interest in sex, or they might not be able to have sex.
What is refractory in cancer treatment?
Cancer that does not respond to treatment. The cancer may be resistant at the beginning of treatment or it may become resistant during treatment. Also called resistant cancer.
What does refractory to chemotherapy mean?
The word “refractory” in general use means stubborn or intractable, and in medicine it is specifically applied to disease that does not respond to treatment. Refractory cancer refers to cancer that may be resistant at the beginning of treatment, or becomes resistant during treatment.
What does the term refractory means?
1 : resisting control or authority : stubborn, unmanageable. 2a : resistant to treatment or cure a refractory lesion. b : unresponsive to stimulus. c : immune, insusceptible after recovery they were refractory to infection. 3 : difficult to fuse, corrode, or draw out especially : capable of enduring high temperature.
What does refractory to conservative treatment mean?
1. not readily yielding to treatment. 2. not responding to a stimulus.
What is difference between relapse and refractory?
Relapsed disease means a cancer has come back. Refractory disease means a cancer has stopped responding to treatment.
What are refractory symptoms?
Refractory symptoms are defined as symptoms that cannot be adequately controlled despite aggressive efforts to identify and utilize a therapy that does not compromise consciousness.
What is a example of refractory?
Examples of conducting refractories are silicon carbide (SiC) and zirconium carbide (ZrC), whereas examples of nonconducting refractories are silica and alumina. Insulating refractories include calcium silicate materials, kaolin, and zirconia.
What does refractory mean in cardiology?
The refractoriness of a cardiac tissue can be defined by the response of that tissue to the introduction of premature stimuli. The effective refractory period (ERP) of a cardiac tissue is the longest interval of the input into a part of the conduction system that fails to propagate through that tissue.
What are the requirements of a good refractory?
A good refractory should have high RUL value. It is defined as the ratio of its pore volume to the bulk volume. Porosity is an important property of refractory bricks, because it affect many other characteristics like chemical stability, strength, abrasion- resistance and thermal conductivity.
What is refractory chronic pain?
Intractable pain or refractory pain occurs when pain cannot be adequately controlled despite aggressive measures.
What is relapsed refractory?
The term “relapsed” refers to disease that reappears or grows again after a period of remission. The term “refractory” is used to describe when the lymphoma does not respond to treatment (meaning that the cancer cells continue to grow) or when the response to treatment does not last very long.
What does conservative treatment mean in medical terms?
Conservative management is a type of medical treatment defined by the avoidance of invasive measures such as surgery or other invasive procedures, usually with the intent to preserve function or body parts.
What does "refractory" mean in medical terms?
Medically Reviewed By: Ann S. LaCasce, MD, MMSc. The word “refractory” in general use means stubborn or intractable, and in medicine it is specifically applied to disease that does not respond to treatment.
What is refractory cancer?
Refractory cancer refers to cancer that may be resistant at the beginning of treatment, or becomes resistant during treatment. “We would consider disease refractory if doesn’t respond at all or responds but starts to grow in a very short time frame,” explains Ann LaCasce, MD, MMSc, a physician in the Adult Lymphoma Program at Dana-Farber ...
What is the next step in a patient's treatment?
When a patient’s disease is or becomes refractory, the next step may be to try another form of treatment — called a second- or third-line treatment — or to enroll the patient in a clinical trial.
What is a refractory person?
Definition of refractory (Entry 2 of 2) : a refractory person or thing especially : a heat-resisting ceramic material.
Where does the word "refractory" come from?
Refractory is from the Latin word refractarius. During the 17th century, it was sometimes spelled as refractary, but that spelling, though more in keeping with its Latin parent, had fallen out of use by the century's end. Refractarius, like refractory, is the result of a slight variation in spelling. It stems from the Latin verb refragari, meaning ...
What is treatment resistant?
Essentially, it’s a medical name that is given to a condition that has not responded to treatment, be that medication, counseling, or other forms of talking therapies. The term “treatment-resistant” is sometimes used to describe the same circumstances.
Is it important to talk to your doctor about alternative therapies?
Of course, it’s always important to talk to your doctor if you want to try alternative therapies, but it does exemplify the fact that medical science tends to work quite slowly – and many treatment-refractory cases are just waiting for developments to catch up.
Is CBD a treatment refractory condition?
In many cases, treatment-refractory conditions are merely waiting for new, innovative approaches that may not have yet entered the mainstream. CBD, for example, has shown great benefits for mental health, but has existed outside of standard medical practice; those who wished to try CBD opted to buy Harmony CBD for themselves.
Is treatment refractory permanent?
If, however, your condition is found to be treatment-refractory, try to focus on the fact that this is not necessarily permanent, that effective treatment may well be available in future, and work with medical professionals to ensure you can manage as well as possible in the meantime.
Can treatment refractory mental health be temporary?
There is also the fact that many cases of treatment-refractory mental health conditions are simply not responding to conventional approaches right now – but they will in the future, often for no obvious reason. treatment- refractory status can be temporary; it does not mean that your condition will never improve.
What is refractory leukemia?
Patients who still have cancer cells in their bone marrow after treatment have refractory leukemia. Relapsed lymphoma is a disease that responded to treatment initially, but then returned. Refractory disease means the cancer hasn’t responded to the initial treatment (it could be getting worse or staying the same).
What is the difference between relapsed and refractory disease?
What is the difference in relapsed and refractory disease for each kind of blood cancer? Relapsed and refractory disease can be different depending on the type of blood cancer: With leukemia, people who have been in remission can have a return of cancer cells and a decrease in normal blood cells. This is a relapse.
Why is it important to define refractory symptom?
The importance of defining a refractory symptom is central in utilizing palliative sedation in a safe, efficacious, and ethical manner. A refractory symptom is one that cannot be adequately controlled despite aggressive efforts to identify a tolerable therapy that does not compromise consciousness ( Cherny 1994 ).
Which tumors are most likely to cause refractory symptoms?
The malignant tumors most often associated with refractory symptoms include those in the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, colon, rectum, and breasts, though certainly any malignancy can cause refractory symptoms.
Is lenalidomide refractory to lenalidomide?
And so, the major definition for being refractory to lenalidomide, Revlimid, is that you must have progressed on full doses of Revlimi d or had an inadequate response with full doses, or the maximum doses that could be tolerated for the Revlimid .
Is Revlimid refractory?
And so, on the opposite side, Revlimid could still be used, you are not refractory if you progress just with low doses typically used for long term maintenance, or if you took Revlimid in the past but then have relapsed off of treatment, so you’ve been on no maintenance for example. And so, this is very, very important in terms of, ...
