These terms sound similar but describe two different jobs, and good specification depends on knowing which you need.
Flame-retardant cable is designed to resist the spread of flame. If exposed to fire it is slow to ignite and tends to self-extinguish, helping stop a fault from propagating along the wiring. However, a flame-retardant cable is not required to keep working once the fire reaches it — its circuit may fail. Most house wiring, in grades like FR, FR-LS and HR-FR-LSH, is flame-retardant.
Fire-resistant (or 'fire-survival') cable is designed to keep the circuit alive during a fire for a defined period. This is essential for life-safety systems that must keep running while a building is evacuated — fire alarms, emergency lighting, sprinkler pumps and lift circuits.
In short: flame-retardant limits how fire spreads; fire-resistant keeps critical power flowing through a fire. They are often used together in a building — flame-retardant for general wiring, fire-resistant for emergency circuits. Many premium wires also add low-smoke, low-halogen behaviour for safer evacuation. See APAR's fire-safe house wires, including the e-beam Fire Protekt range.