Remission (medicine)

Remission is either the reduction or disappearance of the signs and symptoms of a disease.[1] The term may also be used to refer to the period during which this reduction occurs.[2] A remission may be considered a partial remission or a complete remission. For example, a partial remission for cancer may be defined as a 50% or greater reduction in the measurable parameters of tumor growth as may be found on physical examination, radiologic study, or by biomarker levels from a blood or urine test. Each disease or even clinical trial can have its own definition of a partial remission.

A complete remission, also called a full remission, is a total disappearance of the manifestations of a disease. A person whose condition is in complete remission might be considered cured or recovered, notwithstanding the possibility of a relapse, i.e. the reappearance of a disease. In cancer-treatment, doctors usually avoid the term "cured" and instead prefer the term "no evidence of disease" or NED to refer to a complete remission of cancer, which does not necessarily mean that the cancer will not come back.[3][4]

References

  1. "What Does Cancer Remission Really Mean?". WebMD. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  2. "Definitions of the word 'remission'". Medical Dictionary. TheFreeDictionary.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019.
  3. WebMD, LLC. (2018). Martin, Laura J. (ed.). "Remission: What Does It Mean?". WebMD.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019.
  4. "What is "Cure"?". mskcc.org. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019.


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