cytotoxic

British

/ ˌsaɪtəʊtɒkˈsɪsɪtɪ, ˌsaɪtəʊˈtɒksɪk /

adjective

poisonous to living cells: denoting certain drugs used in the treatment of leukaemia and other cancers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

cytotoxicity noun

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The drug, daraxonrasib, showed improvements in survival and success compared with standard-of-care cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who had been previously treated.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

This subtype is cytotoxic, meaning it can destroy cells that enter or harm the body.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

The fading-down process works as follows: Specific antibodies coupled to a cytotoxic drug recognize all blood cells in the patient's body based on a surface structure.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2024

"Many tumors prevent the stem-like T cells from generating cytotoxic T cells in the tumor that could attack the cancer."

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

Single-cell RNA sequencing by LJI scientists provides a 'biomarker' to help detect cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T cells in more patients going forward.

From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023