Abbreviation	Spelling	Context and Comment
SBRT	Sterotactic body radiotherapy	Very precise radiation given in 1–5 treatment sessions
MASCC	Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer	Organization which includes experts that provide guidelines for improving side effects of cancer and cancer treatment
ESMO	European Society of Clinical Oncology	Organization of cancer professionals to share information and guidelines to develop better ways to treat cancer in Europe and other regions. The academic journal is ESMO Open
ASCO	American Society of Clinical Oncology	World’s largest organization of cancer professionals to share information and guidelines to develop better ways to treat cancer. Academic journal is the Journal of Clinical Oncology
NCCN	National Comprehensive Cancer Network	An organization devoted to providing guidelines for treatment of specific cancers and issues related to cancer treatment
PG-SGA	Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment	A tool to help identify malnutrition and cachexia in cancer patients at risk for sarcopenia
OBD	Optimal biologic dose	Dose of an agent that achieves best effect against a target with acceptable toxicity (for example effect on immune activation)
MTD	Maximally tolerated dose	Dose of a drug (e.g., chemotherapy drug) for which an increase dose would have unacceptable toxicity. Once the MTD is determined in a phase I clinical trial, this becomes the recommended phase 2 dose of an anti-cancer agent
AUC	Area under the curve	A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic concept that reflects the graph of drug concentration over time. Usually, an inverted U shape because of absorption, distribution, and metabolism, and elimination of an agent
VEGF	Vascular endothelial growth factor	A protein involved in generation of new blood vessels to heal wounds or injury or associated with tumors growing new blood vessels. Some anti-cancer drugs block VEGF
NG	Naso-gastric	Usually refers to thin tube that extends from the nose to the stomach to provide liquid nutrition, suspensions of drugs, or fluids without swallowing
G-tube	Gastrostomy tube	A tube that goes directly from abdominal skin through the muscles and lining of the abdomen into the stomach. Same use as NG but without the discomfort of a tube in the nose or back of the throat
SRS	Stereotactic radiosurgery	Ultraprecise radiation that may require a “halo” device or anesthesia to give the dose to tumor only in the brain or near the spinal cord
N/V	Nausea and/or vomiting	The most common side effect of cancer chemotherapy
5HT	5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)	The 5-HT3 receptor is triggered in the brain chemoreceptor trigger zone to cause drug associated N/V. Inhibitors of 5-HT are very useful as anti-emetics to reduce or prevent chemotherapy associated N/V
TPN	Total parenteral nutrition	An intravenous solution containing glucose, amino acids, vitamins, and sometimes lipids that is used when patients cannot eat or drink adequate amounts of nutrients
TKI	Tyrosine kinase inhibitors	A class of drugs that act to block cancer-associated tyrosine kinase enzyme(s) in cancer cells that facilitate cancer growth
WART	Whole abdominal radiotherapy	A radiation technique to provide a moderately high dose of radiation to the entire abdomen with relative sparing of liver and kidneys and treating intestines and intestinal lining to tolerance dose.
RT	Radiotherapy	Use of radiation as a treatment modality for cancer
BMT	Bone marrow transplant	High-dose chemotherapy followed by infusion of marrow or blood stem cells to allow recovery of blood cell production
G-CSF	Granulocyte colony stimulating factor	A subcutaneous injection given after chemotherapy to increase granulocyte (neutrophil) production by the bone marrow to make chemotherapy safer
KPS	Karnofsky performance scale	A scale from 0% (dead) to 100% (full activity without limitation) to indicate how active a cancer patient is and whether or not activity (performance) is limited by symptoms of drugs, radiation, or cancer
PT/OT	Physical therapy and/or occupational therapy	PT involves improving function, exercise, and strength training. OT involves learning how to do activities of daily living better (e.g., climbing stairs, opening a jar, buttoning a shirt)
GNRI	Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index	A composite compilation of risk factors to help with malnutritional assessment in older people
MNA	Mini-Nutritional Assessment	A composite compilation of risk factors to help with malnutritional assessment
PRO	Patient reported outcome	A self-assessment form (if electronic it is an ePRO)
BMI	Body mass index	A calculation involving height and weight that can give a number to indicate thin, normal or obese (e.g., BMI > 30)