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

Over two years she underwent seven intense chemotherapy treatments, lost her hair and had to be fed through a tube.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026

Even with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, patients typically survive less than 15 months after diagnosis.

From Science Daily • Jun. 27, 2026

The researchers also found that EXO1-overexpressing tumors responded to cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapy drug.

From Science Daily • Jun. 20, 2026

Inside were $7,000 of chemotherapy drugs for his sister in Havana, who has ovarian cancer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

When a child is on as many heavy-duty chemotherapy drugs as Jeffrey is, the liver takes a beating.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

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