Immunotherapy Treatment of cancer by stimulating the body's immune defense system. A procedure in which the doctor inserts a small needle into the spinal cavity in the lower back to withdraw some spinal fluid for testing. A medical procedure using a magnet linked to a computer to picture areas inside the body. The process by which stem cells transform from immature cells without a specific function into a particular type of blood cell with defined functions. Remission A disappearance of a disease as a result of treatment.
Complete remission means that all disease is gone.
Partial remission means that the disease is significantly improved by treatment, but residual traces of the disease are still present. Further Reading Books Berkow, Robert, et al. Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 16th ed. Merck Research Laboratories, 1992. Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy.