What is pentostatin used for?

Pentostatin is used to treat hairy cell leukemia (cancer of a certain type of white blood cell). Pentostatin is a type of antibiotic that is only used in cancer chemotherapy. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells in your body.

What drug class is pentostatin?

Pentostatin belongs to the group of medicines called antimetabolites. It is used to treat a type of cancer of the white blood cells called hairy cell leukemia.

Is Pentostatin a purine analogue?

Pentostatin is an antimetabolite isolated from Streptomyces antibioticus. This purine analogue is an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, which converts adenosine to inosine. This inhibition apparently leads to inhibition of methylation and other reactions.

Is fludarabine a chemotherapy?

Drug type: Fludarabine is an anti-cancer (“antineoplastic” or “cytotoxic”) chemotherapy drug. This medication is classified as an “antimetabolite.” (For more detail, see “How this drug works” section below).

Is pentostatin a chemotherapy?

Drug Type: Pentostatin is an anti-cancer (“anti-neoplastic” or “cytotoxic”) chemotherapy drug.

Does pentostatin cause hair loss?

sores in the mouth and throat. flatulence or large amounts of gas in the intestines or bowels. hair loss.

Is cladribine a purine analogue?

Cladribine was synthesized as a purine analogue drug that inhibited adenosine deaminase. It received FDA approval in the 1980s for treatment of hairy cell leukemia.

Is fludarabine an immunosuppressant?

Fludarabine is a nucleoside analog used in the treatment of hematologic malignancies that can induce severe and prolonged immunosuppression.

Do you lose hair with fludarabine?

This medicine may rarely cause a temporary loss of hair. After treatment with fludarabine has ended, normal hair growth should return.

Is pentostatin generic?

Pentostatin is the generic name for the trade name drug Nipent. In some cases, health care professionals may use the trade name Nipent when referring to the generic drug name pentostatin.

What is thioguanine used for?

Thioguanine is used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML; a type of cancer that begins in the white blood cells). Thioguanine is in a class of medications known as purine analogs. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells in your body.

Is fludarabine an antimetabolite?

Fludarabine phosphate is a purine antimetabolite approved for use in the management of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Fludarabine works primarily by inhibiting DNA synthesis. The compound also possesses lymphocytotoxic activity with preferential activity toward T-lymphocytes.

How is pentostatin used in the treatment of cancer?

Pentostatin is a cancer chemotherapeutic agent of the antimetabolite class which is used to treat patients with hairy cell leukemia. The drug is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA) which is found at high levels in malignant T-cells.

Are there any side effects to taking pentostatin?

Pentostatin is not bioavailable by the oral route. Pentostatin crosses the blood–brain barrier with CSF concentrations 10–13% of serum drug concentrations. At doses used for hairy cell leukemia (4 mg/m 2 biweekly), side effects include neutropenia (70% of patients), mild to moderate lethargy, and rash.

How is pentostatin related to adenosine deaminase?

Pentostatin-related inhibition of adenosine deaminase results in accumulation of deoxyadenosine and its nucleotides, which in turn results in a negative regulatory effect on ribonucleotide reductase as well as DNA replication and repair.

How is pentostatin misincorporated into the DNA?

Pentostatin is triphosphorylated and misincorporated into DNA. Inhibition of adenosine deaminase leads to accumulation of adenosine, and hence to retroinhibition of the enzyme S -adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase.