D. Glossary and Abbreviations
From Cancer Guidelines Wiki
Glossary[edit source]
| Term | Definition |
| Childhood brain tumour | A brain tumour in childhood is an abnormal mass of cells growing in the brain. It can start to grow before birth in the foetal period, or anytime during childhood. Tumours can grow slowly over time, causing a slow onset of symptoms, or quickly with a faster onset of more obvious symptoms. Brain tumours can be treated with a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, depending on the type. There are no clear known causes. |
| Communication | Communication includes speech, language, voice, and fluency skills. |
| Dysphagia | A swallowing disorder that occurs when there is a breakdown of the oral, pharyngeal, and/or oesophageal phases, which can also result in significant weight loss, inadequate growth, or negatively impact on development. |
| Evidence to Decision Framework | The GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) Framework provides a structured way to combine research findings with other key factors to develop guidelines and make clinical recommendations. It helps to guide decision makers through a set of criteria, ensuring that each criterion is considered equally, and decisions are transparently reported. |
| Fluency | Fluency is the rhythm and flow of speech. |
| GRADE | GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) is used to rate the certainty or quality of a body of evidence. Each outcome area is given a rating from high to very low. |
| Language | Language is the comprehension and production of words, sentences, and texts for communication. This includes vocabulary (e.g. the store of words that an individual understands and uses), grammar/syntax (e.g. the way words are combined into phrases and sentences to form meaning), discourse (e.g. written language and text-level), social communication (e.g. skills needed to manage a conversation successfully, such as turn-taking, staying on topic, inferencing, ambiguity, jokes and metaphors) and literacy (e.g. reading, spelling and writing). Language can occur in many modalities, such as spoken, written and alternative augmentative domains (e.g. sign language, communication devices). |
| Leukaemia | Leukaemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, where more leukocytes (or immature white blood cells) are produced and suppress normal blood cells. If leukaemia is diagnosed as acute, the disease progresses more quickly and requires more aggressive treatment. Treatments can include monitoring, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and/or stem-cell transplant. |
| Quality of life | Quality of life refers to an individual’s ability to participate based on functional outcomes. Quality of life is often considered alongside quantity (or duration) of life. |
| Speech | Speech is the production of speech sounds in words. It involves both articulation/ motor speech production and linguistic skills (e.g. sounds, intonation, stress, prosody). |
| Swallowing | Swallowing includes feeding behaviours that occur when eating or drinking (e.g. sensory responses to food, opening the mouth, chewing, and moving food or liquid around the mouth). |
| Voice | Voice is the coordination of respiration, phonation and resonance. |
Abbreviations[edit source]
| Acronym | Expansion |
| AGREE II | Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II |
| ALL | Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia |
| AML | Acute Myeloid Leukaemia |
| CALD | Culturally and Linguistically Diverse |
| CBTL | Childhood Brain Tumour or Leukaemia |
| CNS | Central Nervous System |
| EtD | Evidence to Decision |
| GRADE | Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation |
| JBI | Joanna Briggs Institute |
| MDT | Multidisciplinary team |
| NHMRC | National Health and Medical Research Council |
| pCMS/CMS | Postoperative Cerebellar Mutism Syndrome/ Cerebellar Mutism Syndrome |
| PFS | Posterior Fossa Syndrome |