The term "chemotherapy"
When was the first chemotherapeutic agent discovered?
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is described in one dictionary entry as "the treatment of disease by the use of chemical substances, especially the treatment of cancer by cytotoxic and other drugs." The word "chemotherapy" without a modifier usually refers to cancer treatment, but its historical meaning is broader. The term was historically used for non-oncological references, such as the use of antibiotics ("antibacterial chemotherapy"). The first modern chemotherapeutic agent was arsphenamine, an arsenic compound discovered in 1909 and used to treat syphilis. This was later followed by sulfonamides (sulfa drugs) and penicillin. Other uses that have been termed chemotherapy are the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.