The NCI Drug Dictionary contains technical definitions and synonyms for drugs/agents used to treat patients with cancer or conditions related to cancer. Each drug entry includes links to check for clinical trials listed in NCI's PDQ® Cancer Clinical Trials Registry.

Tips on Looking Up a Drug

• In the search box, type the name or part of the name of the drug/agent you are looking for and click the “Go” button.
• You can use the generic name (e.g., doxorubicin), U.S. brand names (e.g., Rubex), NSC number, chemical structure names, or other names to find the drug.
• Click on a letter of the alphabet to browse through the dictionary or click on "All" to see a listing of all drugs in the dictionary.
• Change the search from "Starts with" to "Contains" to find all drugs in the dictionary that include a word or set of letters or numbers (e.g., "rubicin" to find daunorubicin, doxorubicin, and epirubicin).
• Use the icon to get more help.
• The search box has an autosuggest feature. When you type three or more letters, a list of up to 10 suggestions will pop up below the box. Click on a suggestion with your mouse or use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move through the suggestions and then hit the Enter key to choose one.
• Using the Escape key or clicking "close" within the autosuggest box closes the box and turns off the feature until you start a new search.
• Some drug entries include a button that links to a drug information summary page.