Definition of "chemotherapy" []

• The treatment of cancer using specific chemical agents or drugs that are selectively destructive to malignant cells and tissues. (noun)
• The treatment of disease using chemical agents or drugs that are selectively toxic to the causative agent of the disease, such as a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For example, "we don't use the term chemotherapy," says Dr. Xu."
• "The term chemotherapy often refers to a kind of treatment for cancer in which chemicals are administered to destroy cancer cells."
• "The word chemotherapy, in the sense we understand it today, had never been used for anticancer medicines."