chemotherapeutics
che·mo·ther·a·peu·tics
(kē'mō-thār-ă-pyū'tiks),chemotherapy
Medical historyA near-extinct synonym for antibiotic or anti-tuberculosis therapy.
Oncology
The use of various agents, most of which are toxic to dividing cells, to induce tumour cell lysis; successful chemotherapy (CT) is a function of tumour responsiveness, which most predictably occurs in lymphoproliferative malignancy (e.g., leukaemia and lymphoma) and small cell (undifferentiated) carcinoma. Because CT is most effective against rapidly proliferating cells, collateral damage to dividing cells in skin and hair, bone marrow and the GI tract is common, resulting in reversible hair loss, myelosuppression, and nausea and vomiting. A late effect of CT, especially in paediatric leukaemia, is induction of a 2nd malignancy, which may be refractory to therapy.