Glossary of terms

Most of the terms below appear in this online guide.

Advanced prostate cancer	Prostate cancer that has spread outside the prostate gland and pelvic lymph nodes to other places in the body like the bones, liver, or lungs. See metastasis.
Ashkenazi Jewish	Someone with Jewish ancestry from Eastern Europe. In some cases, Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry is linked to with an increased risk for certain cancers and may be a reason for germline genetic testing in some situations.
Biomarker testing	Another term for tumor testing or somatic testing (these terms all mean the same thing).
Biopsy	A sample of tissue used to diagnose or understand features of certain diseases, including cancer.
BRCA1 and BRCA2	See homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes.
DNA	The genetic code that tells your body how to grow, look, and work. Every cell in your body (except your red blood cells) has a copy of your DNA.
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)	DNA released by tumor cells into the bloodstream. ctDNA testing uses a blood sample and does not require a biopsy.
Gene	A bundle of DNA. Your genes determine how you look and how your body functions.
Gene alteration	A change in the DNA sequence (code) of a gene. Some (not all) gene alterations cause or affect disease. Gene alterations are also known as gene variants and used to be called mutations.
Genetic counselor	A healthcare professional specially trained to help people understand genetic test results and decide whether to get tested.
Germline genetic testing	A blood or saliva test that checks your healthy cells for specific inherited gene alterations that affect disease risk, progression, or treatment outcomes. Also known as hereditary testing or inherited cancer risk gene testing.
Genomic testing	Another term for somatic testing. ‘Genomic’ comes from ‘genome,’ or the complete set of DNA in your body. Every person has a unique genome, and so does every tumor.
Hereditary	Passed down from a parent to a child. In cancer medicine, “hereditary” refers to inherited gene alterations that affect cancer risk, aggressiveness, and treatment response.
Homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes	Genes that help repair specific types of DNA damage. HRR genes include BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, CHEK2, PALB2, and others. Certain alterations in these genes increase cancer risk and aggressiveness but also predict a better response to PARP inhibitor treatments. Some HRR alterations are inherited from your parents (present in all your cells), while others occur only in cancer cells.
Immunotherapy	A treatment that helps your body’s immune system locate and fight cancer cells.
Inherited cancer risk gene alterations	Gene alterations that can increase the risk of certain cancers. These alterations are inherited from a parent and can be passed down to a child. Found by testing blood or saliva.
Intraductal/cribriform histology	A form of prostate cancer in which the cancer cells grow in the ducts, or tiny tubes, inside the prostate gland.
Localized prostate cancer	Prostate cancer that has not spread outside the prostate gland.
Metastasis	The spread of cancer cells from where they first formed to another part of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. After spreading, they form a new tumor. This means that if prostate cancer metastasizes to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones are prostate cancer cells, not bone cells.
Metastatic prostate cancer	See advanced prostate cancer.
High tumor mutational burden (TMB-H)	A tumor that has many alterations in its DNA. These tumors often respond well to certain immunotherapy treatments.
Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H)	A tumor that has a hard time repairing mistakes in its DNA. These tumors also often respond well to certain immunotherapy treatments.
Mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR)	Alterations in certain genes that are responsible for repairing mistakes that can occur when DNA is copied. Often causes MSI-H.
Mutation	See gene alteration.
Node-positive prostate cancer	Prostate cancer that has spread from the prostate gland to nearby lymph nodes, but not to other parts of the body.
PARP inhibitor	Stands for poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, a type of targeted cancer drug. PARP inhibitors work by blocking a protein that tumor cells use to repair their DNA. Blocking this protein makes it harder for the cancer to survive and grow.
PTEN	Stands for phosphatase and tensin homolog, a gene that controls cell growth and division. If PTEN is lost or damaged, cancer may grow faster.
Somatic testing	Looks for changes in your tumor DNA and proteins that help guide treatment selection. These changes occur in the tumor during your lifetime and are not inherited. Also known as biomarker or genomic testing.
Variant	A gene variant is another way to say gene alteration.
Very high-risk or high-risk localized prostate cancer	Prostate cancer that has not spread outside the prostate gland but has characteristics that make spread much more likely.