Floxuridine

Toxicity

Oral, rat LD50: 215 mg/kg. Signs of overdose include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding, and bone marrow depression (including thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and agranulocytosis).

Description

Floxuridine is a nucleoside analog that inhibits the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase, which is involved in the synthesis of DNA. Floxuridine has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and induce apoptosis in vivo. Floxuridine has also been shown to inhibit tumor growth in animal models by inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species and upregulating tumor suppressor genes, such as p53. This drug also has inhibitory effects on enzymes that are involved in cell proliferation, such as protein kinase C and tyrosine kinases.

Chemical properties

White Solid

Originator

FUDR,Roche,US ,1971

The Uses of Floxuridine

Floxuridine USP is used in Palliative treatment of gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma with liver metastases.

The Uses of Floxuridine

Antiviral; antineoplastic.

The Uses of Floxuridine

renal function diagnosis

Background

An antineoplastic antimetabolite that is metabolized to fluorouracil when administered by rapid injection. Floxuridine is available as a sterile, nonpyrogenic, lyophilized powder for reconstitution. When administered by slow, continuous, intra-arterial infusion, it is converted to floxuridine monophosphate. It has been used to treat hepatic metastases of gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas and for palliation in malignant neoplasms of the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

Indications

For palliative management of gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma metastatic to the liver, when given by continuous regional intra-arterial infusion in carefully selected patients who are considered incurable by surgery or other means. Also for the palliative management of liver cancer (usually administered by hepatic intra-arterial infusion).

What are the applications of Application

5-Fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine is an experimental antiproliferative agent shown to have activity against variety of neoplasms

Definition

ChEBI: A pyrimidine 2'-deoxyribonucleoside compound having 5-fluorouracil as the nucleobase; used to treat hepatic metastases of gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas and for palliation in malignant neoplasms of the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

Manufacturing Process

Cells of Streptococcus fecalis (ATCC-8043) were grown in the AOAC folic acid assay medium [Lepper, Official and Tentative Methods of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, Washington, D.C., 7th edition, 784 (1950)], supplemented with 2 mg per liter of thymine; following the teachings of Prusoff, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. & Med. 85, 564 (1954). After 20 hours of incubation at 37°C, the cells were harvested by centrifugation. The collected cells were washed three times with four volumes of potassium phosphate buffer solution (M/15 aqueous KH2PO4 solution, adjusted to pH 8.0 by addition of 2 N aqueous KOH) and the wet cells were weighed. The cells were finally suspended in the above potassium phosphate buffer solution and ground in a glass tissue homogenizer.
An amount of enzyme preparation equivalent to 900 mg of wet cells was made up to 25 ml with the above potassium phosphate buffer solution. 150 mg (1.15 mmol) of 5-fluorouracil and 1.0 gram of thymidine (4.12 mmol) were dissolved in 15 ml of the above potassium phosphate buffer solution. The mixture was incubated at 37°C for 18 hours. After this time, enzyme action was stopped by the addition of four volumes of acetone and one volume of peroxide-free diethyl ether. The precipitated solids were removed by filtration, and the filtrate was evaporated under nitrogen at reduced pressure until substantially all volatile organic solvent had been removed. About 20 ml of aqueous solution, essentially free of organic solvent, remained. This solution was diluted to 100 ml with distilled water.
Ten microliters of this solution were submitted to descending chromatography on a paper buffered with 0.2 N KH2PO4 (pH 7.8), using a solvent mixture of tertiary amyl alcohol:water:n-butyl ether (80:13:7 by volume). A spot visible under ultraviolet light and having Rf = 0.55 was leached with 0.1 N HCl and assayed for deoxyribose by the method of Stumpf, J. Biol. Chem. 169, 367 (1947). This analysis indicated the presence of a minimum of 85.5 mg (0.35 mmol) of 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine in the protein-free reaction mixture according to US Patent 2,885,396. An alternate route from 5-fluorouracil via the mercury derivative, through toluoyl deoxyuridines and then toluoyl removal to give floxuridine is described in US Patent 3,041,335.

brand name

Fudr (Mayne).

Therapeutic Function

Antiviral, Cancer chemotherapy

General Description

Inhibits DNA synthesis.

General Description

The drug is available as a 500-mg vial of lyophilized powder.The drug is used to treat metastatic GI adenocarcinoma.The mechanism of action of this fluoropyrimidine deoxynucleosideanalog involves metabolic conversion to 5-fluorouracil(5-FU) metabolites resulting in inhibition of TSthus disrupting DNA synthesis, function, and repair.Resistance can occur because of increased expression of TS,decreased levels of reduced folate 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate,increased activity of DNA repair enzymes, and increasedexpression of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase(the major catabolic enzyme). The drug is poorly absorbedfrom the GI tract and is extensive metabolized to 5-FU and5-FU metabolites. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase is themain enzyme responsible for 5-FU catabolism, and it ispresent in liver, GI mucosa, white blood cells, and kidney.The drug interaction and toxicity profiles are equivalent tothose of 5-FU.

Health Hazard

ACUTE/CHRONIC HAZARDS: Floxuridine is highly toxic by ingestion.

Fire Hazard

Flash point data for Floxuridine are not available, but Floxuridine is probably combustible.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Antineoplastic drug that acts as a potent inhibitor of thymidylate synthetase Resistance to FUdR can develop in cancer cell cultures, among other means, by low-level Mycoplasma infection.

Pharmacokinetics

Floxuridine is an anti-metabolite or a pyrimidine analog that works by disrupting the process S-phase of cell division, selectively targeting rapidly dividing cells. Due to the structural similarities, antimetabolites act as pyrimidine-like molecules and prevent normal pyrimidines from being incorporated into DNA. After successful biotransformation, floxuridine is converted into an active component, flurouracil, which blocks the enzyme which converts cytosine nucleosides into the deoxy derivative. Flurouracil also physically prevents the incorporation of thymidine nucleotides into the DNA strand by taking their place, further preventing DNA synthesis.

Safety Profile

Poison by ingestion. Moderately toxic by intraperitoneal route. An experimental teratogen. Other experimental reproductive effects. Human systemic effects: hypermotitity, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal effects, allergic dermatitis, and bone marrow changes. Human mutation data reported. When heated to decomposition it emits very toxic fumes of Fand NOx.

Synthesis

Fluoxuridine, 5-fluoro-1-(2-deoxyribofuranosyl)-pyrimidin-2,4-(1H,3H)- dione (30.1.3.5), is a pyrimidine nucleotide made by reacting fluorouracil (30.1.3.3) with 2-deoxyribofuranosylbromide in the presence of silver or mercury salts.

Metabolism

Hepatic.