Background of use of 5-Fu

Song, Byung Joo

REVIEW

Korean J Clin Oncol. 2005;1(1): 40-44.

Background of use of 5-Fu

Byung Joo Song

Department of Surgery, Kang-Nam St, Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea

Corresponding Author: Byung Joo Song ,Tel: 82-2-590-2735, Fax: 82-2-590-1406, Email: bjsonq@catholic.ac.kr

Received: May 20, 2005; Accepted: June 10, 2005.

ABSTRACT

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was first introduced in 1957, it is widely used in the treatment of a range of cancers, including colorectal and breast cancers, and cancers of the head and neck. 5-FU is an analog of uracil, an antimetabolite that exerts its anti-tumor activity on cells during the S-phase of the cell cycle. 5-FU can react in the following two ways; first, it transforms into 5-fluoro-2’-deoxyuridine-5’-monophosphate (FdUMP), which binds to thymidylate synthase, thus inhibiting the synthesis of DNA. Second, 5FU may convert into 5-fluorouridine-5’,- triphosphate (FUTP) and then FUTP is incorporated into RNAr which causes dysfunction of RNA. Third, FdUMP can be transformed into 5-fluoro-2’-deoxyuri(Jine-5’- diphosphate, which is then phosphorylated to 5-fluoro-2’,-deoxyuridine-5’-triphosphate (FdUTP). FdUTP acts as a substrate for DNA polymerases and can thus be incorporated into DNA. The degradation of 5-FU occurs by the activity of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase. The decreased DPD activity influences on toxicity after administration of routine doses of 5-FU to patients.

Keywords: 5-fluorouracil | Chemotherapy