An assessment of the relative safety of drugs. The ratio between the median lethal dose and the median effective dose of a drug used for a particular effect.
The ratio of the dose of a drug which causes cell damage to the dose of that drug which is typically needed to effect a cure, by which the safety of the drug is decided.
A ratio used to represent the relative safety of a particular drug; the larger the therapeutic index, the safer the drug. It is calculated as the median toxic dose divided by the median effective dose. (In animal trials, the median lethal dose is often substituted for the median toxic dose.)
In anticancer therapy, this is the ratio of a dose of the treatment agent that damages normal cells to the dose necessary to produce a determined level of anticancer activity. The index shows the effectiveness of the treatment against the cancer.
The maximum tolerated dose of a drug divided by the minimum curative dose.