JIAO’S CASE
CASE STUDY
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Stem Cells
MEDICINE & BIOTECH
Glossary: Page 1 of 2
Jiao’s Case - Glossary
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) – is a type of leukemia in which people have an excess of
lymphoblasts which crowd out healthy adult white blood cells.
Allogeneic stem cell transplant – is a type of stem cell transplant is which the stem cells from a
compatible donor are transplanted into a patient.
Apheresis - is a procedure in which blood is collected from one arm of a donor, the stem cells are
removed from the blood and the blood is returned via the other arm of the donor.
Autologous stem cell transplant – is a type of stem cell transplant is which the patient’s own stem cells
are removed, stored and returned to him or her.
Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) – this procedure, also called a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)
transplant, involves the transfer of healthy HSCs obtained from a donor’s bone marrow to
a patient with a disease such as leukemia.
Chemotherapy – is the treatment of cancer using a combination of medications. Originally the word
chemotherapy referred to any treatment using chemicals, but today only refers to the
treatment of cancer. Chemotherapy drugs primarily work by slowing down mitosis (cell
division) of fast-dividing cells such as cancerous cells.
Cord blood bank – is a facility which stores umbilical cord blood for future use. Cord blood banks may
be public (anyone can use the blood) or private (blood reserved for the family of the
donor).
Cord Blood Transplant – this procedure involves the transfer of healthy hematopoietic stem cells
(HSC) obtained from a donor’s umbilical cord to a patient with a disease such as
leukemia.
Cure – refers to disease-free survival. A person who is cured does not have his/her disease come back
over time.
Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) – occurs when the donor stem cells (the graft) attacks the patient’s
cells (the host).
Graft-Versus-Tumor (GVT) – occurs when white blood cells from the donor identify the cancer cells that
remain in the patient’s body after the chemotherapy and/or radiation (the tumor) as foreign
and attack them.
Host-Versus-Graft effect – occurs when the patient’s immune system [the host] fights and rejects the
donor stem cells [the graft]).
Haplotype – is a group of genes which are inherited together from a single parent. The origin of the word
comes from the words haploid (cells with only one set of chromosomes) and genotype
(genetic makeup of an organism).
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) – are multipotent stem cells which give rise to all the blood cell types.
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Copyright Let’s Talk Science ©2014
Developed in collaboration
with the Stem Cell Network
JIAO’S CASE
CASE STUDY
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Stem Cells
MEDICINE & BIOTECH
Glossary: Page 2 of 2
Human Leukocyte Antigens – are marker proteins found on most cells which are used by the immune
system to recognize which cells belong to the body and which cells do not.
In vitro fertilization - is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside of the body (in
vitro).
Leukemia – is a type of cancer which affects the white blood forming cell in bone marrow.
Leukocytes – (also known as white blood cells) are the cells that defend the body against both
infectious disease and foreign materials.
Lymphoblasts – are the immature white blood cells found in bone marrow.
Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSC transplant) – this procedure involves the transfer of
healthy hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) obtained from a donor’s circulating blood to a
patient with a disease such as leukemia.
Relapse – is the term for when a disease recurs (comes back) in a patient.
Remission – is the absence of a disease activity in a patient. In the case of ALL, a patient is said to be in
remission when 99% of the cancerous lymphoblasts have been destroyed.
Syngeneic Stem Cell Transplant - is a type of stem cell transplant is which the stem cells from an
identical twin are transplanted into a patient.
Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry – is a database of individuals who would be willing to be bone
marrow donors.
www.explorecuriocity.org
Copyright Let’s Talk Science ©2014
Developed in collaboration
with the Stem Cell Network