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.

---

chemotherapy British  

/ ˌkiːməʊˈθɛrəpɪ, kiːmə- /

noun

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

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

This "inflamed but immune-suppressed" state is one reason chemotherapy and immunotherapy can be less effective.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

He battled it with chemotherapy and radiation, according to reporting from USA Today.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Like bone-marrow transplantation, current Crispr-based treatment requires intensive chemotherapy and prolonged recovery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

When her hair began falling out during chemotherapy she decided to shave her head, but wanted to make it as positive an experience as possible for her children.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

And then I saw him as the adult who had drifted away, thin and frail, his face bony from the chemotherapy treatments.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

"When I failed the chemotherapies that were on the market, no one wanted me in their clinical trials," she said at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

Working with Valerie Kickhoefer in Rome’s lab, the group then found that the drug-resistant cancer cells generated many more vaults than nonresistant ones, suggesting the structures might sequester or expel chemotherapies.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 6, 2024

Aspirin, morphine and some chemotherapies are examples of drugs that are derived from natural compounds produced by plants.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 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

Related Words

• bomber