chemotherapy

American  

[kee-moh-ther-uh-pee, kem-oh-] / ˌki moʊˈθɛr ə pi, ˌkɛm oʊ- /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

chemotherapies plural

1. the treatment of disease by means of chemicals that have a specific toxic effect upon the disease-producing microorganisms or that selectively destroy cancerous tissue.

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chemotherapy British  

/ kiːmə-, ˌkiːməʊˈθɛrəpɪ /

noun

1. treatment of disease, esp cancer, by means of chemical agents Compare radiotherapy

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chemotherapy Scientific  

/ kē′mō-thĕr′ə-pē /

1. The treatment of disease, especially cancer, using drugs that are destructive to malignant cells and tissues.

2. The treatment of disease using chemical agents or drugs that are selectively toxic to the causative agent of the disease, such as a microorganism.

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chemotherapy Cultural  

1. The treatment of disease with chemicals. The term chemotherapy often refers to a kind of treatment for cancer in which chemicals are administered to destroy cancer cells.

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Discover More

There are often side effects to chemotherapy, a common one being the temporary loss of hair.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chemotherapist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chemotherapies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chemotherapy

First recorded in 1905–10; chemo- + therapy

Explanation

Chemotherapy is a common treatment for cancer. Patients who receive chemotherapy take strong anti-cancer drugs meant to kill the cancer cells. Chemotherapy is given through an IV directly into a patient's veins or in pill form. While chemotherapy is a powerful tool for keeping cancer cells from reproducing, it can often make people feel quite sick because it kills other cells as well. The word literally means "treatment of diseases by chemicals," from the German Chemotherapie and its roots, the scientific prefix chemo-, "chemical," and the Greek therapeia, "healing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chemotherapy chemotherapies

She subsequently underwent brain surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in an effort to keep the cancer at bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

She had been diagnosed with brain cancer and undergone chemotherapy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

He used his remission to promote CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically alters one’s cells to fight cancer, after he said chemotherapy stopped working.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Her cancer was detected early meaning she required surgery, but did not need to undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Mom hadn’t let me or Charlie see Nana when she was going through chemotherapy, and we didn’t talk about it after, either, but the specter of death had haunted us for months.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

The deal will expand Gilead’s capabilities in antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, which deliver powerful chemotherapies to cancerous cells without harming nearby cells.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

The rationing of key chemotherapies added urgency to the crisis.

From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2023

Since non-specific chemotherapies have severe side effects, there is an urgent need to find new and specific therapy approaches.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2023

We started to have steroids, we started to have the wide availability of antibiotics, we started to have effective chemotherapies, we started to have drugs which were really effective in various mental health issues.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2023

That finding could lead to more tolerable chemotherapies that avoid stimulating those nerve pathways or even tamp them down.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 10, 2021

Related Words

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