Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A precancerous condition.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Before the onset of cancer.
  • noun An incipient form of cancer that may become malignant if not treated.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

pre- +‎ cancer

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Examples

  • But Burger says ovarian tumors may be fundamentally different than cancers of the cervix and colon, which tend to progress through predictable stages of precancer before turning malignant.

    Tests for ovarian cancer can backfire 2011

  • Another cream stimulates the immune system to reject the precancer, the Mayo Clinic says.

    Doctors can treat skin precancer before it turns deadly 2011

  • But Burger says ovarian tumors may be fundamentally different than cancers of the cervix and colon, which tend to progress through predictable stages of precancer before turning malignant.

    Tests for ovarian cancer can backfire 2011

  • Another cream stimulates the immune system to reject the precancer, the Mayo Clinic says.

    Doctors can treat skin precancer before it turns deadly 2011

  • It is also likely that more than just “precancer” was discovered upon surgery—for in later years, Mary Lasker would refer to Farber as a “cancer survivor,” without ever divulging the nature of his cancer.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • If cancer truly slouched to its birth, as Auerbach suspected, then perhaps one could still intervene on that progression in its earliest stages—by attacking precancer rather than cancer.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • The protection of the vaccine is not perfect; there are at least 13 types that are known to be associated with genital cancer or precancer, and the vaccine covers 4 types.

    Rebecca Booth, MD: Why My Daughter Is Getting The HPV Vaccine 2010

  • I found a dermatologist uptown who did a very small biopsy, and diagnosed precancer.

    Mohs Nose Woes - Part 2 aka TBTAM 2008

  • The protection of the vaccine is not perfect; there are at least 13 types that are known to be associated with genital cancer or precancer, and the vaccine covers 4 types.

    Why My Daughter Is Getting The HPV Vaccine MD Rebecca Booth 2010

  • He had begun not with cancer but with its past incarnation, its precursor lesion—precancer.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

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