The ability of cancer cells or bacteria to survive and grow despite treatment with chemical drugs.
From chemo- (chemistry/chemical therapy) + resistance (from Latin resistere, 'to resist'). This term became important in medicine in the late 20th century as doctors encountered cancer and bacteria that no longer responded to drugs.
Cancer cells are like bullies that learn your fighting techniques—after repeated exposure to chemotherapy drugs, some tumors actually develop chemoresistance and figure out how to survive the poison.
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