'leukemia-fighting' originates from English, formed by combining the noun 'leukemia' (from Greek 'leukos' meaning 'white' + 'haima' meaning 'blood') and the verb 'fight' (from Old English 'feohtan', meaning 'to fight').

'leukemia' entered modern scientific English in the 19th century via New Latin from Greek roots; 'fight' evolved from Old English 'feohtan' through Middle English 'fighten'. The hyphenated compound 'leukemia-fighting' is a modern English formation used in medical and scientific contexts to describe agents that combat leukemia.

Initially, 'leukemia' named a disease characterized by abnormal white blood cells and 'fight' meant to combat; combined, the compound came to specifically mean 'having the property of combating leukemia' in biomedical usage.