cross-resistance

noun

cross-re·​sis·​tance ˌkrȯs-ri-ˈzi-stən(t)s 

: tolerance (as of a bacterium) to a usually toxic substance (such as an antibiotic) that is acquired not as a result of direct exposure but by exposure to a related substance

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

cross-resistance

noun

cross-re·​sis·​tance ˌkrȯs-ri-ˈzis-tən(t)s 

: tolerance (as of a bacteria, malignant cell, or insect) to a usually toxic substance (as an antibiotic, chemotherapy drug, or pesticide) that is acquired not as a result of direct exposure but by exposure to a related substance

The history of drug resistance in falciparum malaria suggests that these compounds may also enjoy only a short-lived glory and that cross-resistance with related compounds can be expected.

—David J. Wyler, The Journal of the American Medical Association

… paclitaxel and docetaxel are being incorporated into adjuvant regimens on the basis of their antitumor activity in advanced breast cancer and the absence of cross-resistance with doxorubicin.

—Charles L. Shapiro, et al., The New England Journal of Medicine