Chemotherapy

![Dose response relationship of cell killing by chemotherapeutic drugs on normal and cancer cells. At high doses the percentage of normal and cancer cells killed is very similar. For this reason, doses are chosen where anti-tumour activity exceeds normal cell death.[1]](/uploads/202502/18/Screenshot_at_2013-08-16_14_52_302335.png)
![5-FU dose management results in significantly better response and survival rates versus BSA dosing.[19]](/uploads/202502/18/Improvement_in_Response_Rate2335.jpg)
![5-FU dose management avoids serious side effects experienced with BSA dosing[19]](/uploads/202502/18/Toxicity2335.png)
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a category of cancer treatment that uses chemical substances, especially one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents) that are given as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent (which almost always involves combinations of drugs), or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms (palliative chemotherapy). Chemotherapy is one of the major categories of medical oncology (the medical discipline specifically devoted to pharmacotherapy for cancer).