| Disease related |
|
| Adenocarcinoma (ADC) |
A glandular cancer arising from CGIN – accounts for 10–15% of cervix cancers |
| Adenosquamous carcinoma (AdSC) |
Mixed carcinoma accounting for 2–3% of cervix cancers |
| Anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) |
Precancerous lesion arising from the anal epithelium |
| Atypical Squamous Cells of Uncertain Significance (ASCUS) |
Bethesda classification of very low grade |
| Cervical (Pap) Smear |
Cell preparation obtained by scraping cervix, placed on glass slide and graded for degree of abnormality by qualified cytoscreener |
| Cervical Glandular Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CGIN) |
Precancer arising from glandular cells in the cervix |
| Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) |
Histological definition of pre-invasive cellular abnormalities in cervical epithelium |
| CIN 1 |
CIN 2/3 |
| Low grade |
High grade |
| Colposcopy |
Use of magnified image to identify location and grade of abnormalities of the cervix |
| Cytology |
Use of exfoliated cells to identify any abnormality |
| Ectocervical lesions |
Lesion visible entirely on outside of cervix |
| Endocervical lesions |
Lesion is within cervical canal |
| Exfoliated cells |
Surface cervical cells derived from scraping the cervix with a spatula or brush. |
| Genital warts (GW) |
Benign warts caused by HPV 6/11 in the anogenital area |
| High grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) |
Bethesda classification of high grade cytological abnormality |
| Histopathology |
Use of tissue sections to identify pathological changes |
| Hysterectomy |
Removal of entire uterus (womb) |
| Large loop excision of transformation zone (LLETZ) |
Popular methodology of excising CIN |
| Liquid based cytology (LBC) |
Use of liquid preservative to achieve optimal presentation of cells on a slide |
| Low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) |
Bethesda classification of low grade cytological abnormality |
| Mild, moderate, severe Dyskaryosis |
Increasing degree of pre-invasive cellular abnormalities in cervical cytology |
| Negative predictive value |
Proportion of cases that correctly predict a negative outcome |
| Positive predictive value |
Proportion of cases that correctly predict an abnormality |
| Quality Assurance (QA) |
Used to ensure agreed standards and consistent practice |
| Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP) |
HPV6/11 driven, benign, but potentially dangerous because of airway obstruction |
| Squamous carcinoma of Cervix (SCC) |
85% of cervix cancers that arise from CIN 3 |
| Transformation zone (TZ) |
Part of cervix at risk of developing squamous neoplasia |
| Triage |
Process to separate individuals with different risks of disease |
| Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN) |
Precancer of vaginal epithelium |
| Vulva intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) |
Precancer of squamous cells of the vulva |
| Virology related |
|
| BPV |
Bovine papilloma virus |
| Capsids |
The outer coat of the virus which encloses the viral genome (genetic material) |
| Capsomeres |
Subunit of the capsids |
| Cell apoptosis |
Programmed cell death often as a result of damage including events that may eventually promote cancer |
| Cell Senescence |
Death through aging |
| Cellular immortalization |
Unlimited prolongation of cellular lifespan |
| COPV |
Canine oral papilloma virus |
| CRPV |
Cottontail rabbit papilloma virus |
| Cytology/HPV testing-Sensitivity |
Ability of a test to correctly identify a negative result |
| Cytology/HPV testing-Specificity |
Ability of a test to correctly identify a positive result |
| Differentiating cervix epithelium |
Process that produces the stratified layers of the skin overlying the cervix which is necessary for the life cycle of HPV |
| Epidemiology |
Study of disease patterns as means to determine aetiology (cause of disease) |
| Genetic instability |
Happens in cells where DNA repair mechanisms are inhibited |
| Genetic mutation |
Changes in DNA sequences which can lead to altered function including the promotion of cancer |
| High risk HPV |
Subset of HPVs identified with cervical cancer |
| Human papilloma viruses (HPVs) |
Group of viruses that infect various epithelia of the body |
| Hybrid capture |
Type of HPV test |
| Incident Infection |
Newly acquired infection |
| Low risk HPV |
Subset of HPVs not identified with cervical cancer |
| Malignant transformation |
Changes in cell growth promoting cancer |
| Onco-gene, -protein |
Product that is associated with cancer |
| Persistent infection |
An infection that is not cleared by the immune system |
| Productive infection |
Production of new infectious virus |
| ROPV |
Rabbit oral papilloma virus |
| Telomeres |
Ends of chromosomes which shorten with age |
| Transcription factor |
Protein that controls the production of a specific RNA from DNA |
| Tumour suppressors |
Products that act to control cell growth, inhibition can promote cancer |
| Viral episome |
Viral genome copies in the cell |
| Viral integration |
Viral genome is mixed with the host genome and replicates with the latter |
| Virus like particles (VLP) |
Capsid like structures usually composed of L1 proteins and with no viral DNA |
| Virus particles |
The infectious unit of the virus |
| Virus prevalence |
The proportion of population who have a virus prevalence at a time point |
| Immunology related |
|
| Adaptive immunity |
Production of specific antibodies/T cells to fight disease and provide immunological memory to provide protection against any subsequent infection |
| Antigen presenting cells (APC) |
Cells that efficiently present antigens to T cells for optimal and appropriate activation to generate useful adaptive immunity |
| B cells |
Cells that produce antibodies |
| Cellular immunity |
Innate and adaptive cellular effectors |
| Cytokines |
Large group of molecules which have a plethora of functions including communication between immune cells and/or direct effects on virus infected cells (e.g. interferon ) |
| Cytotoxic T cells (CTL) |
Killer T cells able to destroy virus infected cells |
| Dendritic cells (DC) |
Professional APC |
| HLA molecules |
Tissue type of individuals important in antigen presentation |
| HLA-peptide complexes |
The molecular complexes that are recognized by the T cell receptor |
| Humoral immunity |
Production of antibodies |
| Immune Co-stimulation |
Necessary set of signals for optimal activation of immunity |
| Immuno-dominant |
Some parts of antigens are recognized preferentially e.g type specific epitopes on individual HPVs |
| Immunosuppression |
Failure to mount a useful immune response |
| Innate immunity |
Body’s immediate defense against infectious agents |
| Interferon (IFN) |
Molecules that inhibit viruses and virus infected cells |
| Neutralizing antibodies |
Antibodies that can inactivate viruses |
| Peptide epitopes |
Part of protein processed by APC and presented with HLA molecules to T cells expressing the specific TCR |
| Regulatory T cells |
Subset of T cells which can limit adaptive immunity (eg control of autoimmunity or anti-tumour immunity) |
| T cell Anergy |
Stimulation of specific T cells such that they are non responsive |
| T cell receptor (TCR) |
Receptor of T cells e.g. recognizing viral peptides associated with HLA molecules |
| T cells |
White cells that fight infections |
| T helper (Th) cells |
Subset of T cells that organize other immune cells |
| Toll like receptors |
Sensors expressed by innate and adaptive immune cells which respond to various molecules deriving from tissue damage or pathogens |
| Tumour antigen (TA) |
Potential target for adaptive immunity (eg E6 and E7) |
| Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes |
White cells found in a lesion or tumour which may be a mixture of CTL, T regulatory and other types |
| Vaccine and Clinical related |
|
| Adjuvant |
Agent that boosts the immune response |
| Antigenicity |
Property of a molecule that can be recognized immunologically |
| Booster immunizations |
The requirement for further vaccination at a time after the initial immunization |
| Case control study |
Compares abnormal cases with normal outcomes to identify associated risk factors |
| Confidence intervals |
The margin for error around any result |
| Cross protection |
Vaccine against one HPV type shows activity against another type |
| DNA vaccines |
Vaccine based on DNA coding sequence for a protein |
| FDA |
Food and Drug Administration |
| HIV/AIDS |
Human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
| IARC |
International Agency for Research in Cancer |
| Immunization protocol |
Specified regimen for vaccination in specific group of individuals |
| Immunogenicity |
Ability to induce an immune response |
| Multivalent HPV vaccines |
Vaccines that contain multiple HPV type VLPs |
| Power of study |
Statistical prediction of ability to provide a degree of certainty regarding outcomes |
| Prophylactic vaccine |
Vaccine to prevent infection and consequent disease |
| Risk estimates |
Comparison of outcomes for a given risk factor in different populations (e.g. smoking and lung cancer; HPV infection and cervical cancer |
| Statistical analysis |
Means to calculate degree of certainty of any result obtained |
| Therapeutic vaccines |
Vaccine designed to treat established infection or its consequent disease |
| Type specific vaccines |
Vaccines that protect against specific HPV type |
| Vaccine vectors |
Bacteria or viruses genetically engineered to express e.g. L1 proteins |
| WHO |
World Health Organization |
