the treatment of disease, esp cancer, by means of alpha or beta particles emitted from an implanted or ingested radioisotope, or by means of a beam of high-energy radiation
Compare chemotherapy
Derived forms
radiotherapeutic (ˌreɪdɪəʊˌθɛrəˈpjuːtɪk)
adjective
radiotherapeutically (ˌradioˌtheraˈpeutically)
adverb
radiotherapist (ˌradioˈtherapist)
noun
actinotherapy in American English
(ækˌtɪnouˈθerəpi, ˌæktənou-)
noun
Medicine
radiotherapy, esp. using ultraviolet rays
Word origin
[1900–05; actino- + therapy]This word is first recorded in the period 1900–05. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: burnout, decompression, desensitize, elder statesman, geopolitics