Fluorouracil

/ˌfluːərəʊˈjʊərəsɪl/ noun

Definition

A chemotherapy drug used to treat various cancers by interfering with cancer cells' ability to grow and divide.

Etymology

Compound name combining 'fluoro-' (containing fluorine) and 'uracil' (a nucleobase found in RNA), synthesized in the 1950s as an anti-cancer agent.

Kelly Says

Fluorouracil (also called 5-FU) was one of the first chemotherapy drugs that actually worked, discovered by accident when researchers studying how cells use nucleotide building blocks realized they could trick cancer cells into using a poisoned version.

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