Photochemotherapy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medical treatment that uses a light-activated drug together with ultraviolet or visible light to destroy diseased cells such as skin cancer
2. A therapy in which a patient takes a photosensitizing medication and is then exposed to specific wavelengths of light to kill abnormal cells
3. The use of a light-sensitive chemical agent, activated by irradiation, to treat conditions like psoriasis or certain cancers

Etymology: Photochemotherapy combines two older medical ideas: light and chemical treatment. The "photo-" element comes from Greek "phōs," meaning light, and it is the same prefix found in photograph and photosynthesis. The "chemo-" element comes from "chemotherapy," the treatment of disease with chemical agents, which itself joins "chemo-" (from chemistry) with "therapy" (from Greek "therapeia," care or healing). The compound describes treatments in which a light-sensitive drug is given to a patient and then activated by exposure to light, so that the drug acts on diseased cells. Because the term is built from familiar parts, its meaning can be read directly from them: light plus chemical therapy.