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Drugs and Medicinal Substances

Procarbazine

Antineoplastic and Immunomodulating Agents

Procarbazine is a chemotherapy medication used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma and certain brain cancers. It belongs to the alkylating agent family of drugs, though its precise mechanism is not fully understood; it is thought to work in part by methylating guanine in DNA, causing strand breaks that trigger the death of cancer cells. Procarbazine was approved for medical use in the United States in 1969 and appears on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, and is typically taken orally.

Facts
Drug Class
Alkylating agent 1
Mechanism of Action
Methylates guanine at the O-6 position, causing DNA strand breakage and inhibiting RNA and protein synthesis 1
Approved Use
Used for the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma and certain brain cancers 1
First Approved / Isolated Year
1969 1
Significant Risk
Use in pregnancy is known to harm the baby, alongside common effects of low blood cell counts and vomiting 1
Classification
Approval Status
Approved 1
ATC ClassSourced to the subject's own account
L: Antineoplastic and Immunomodulating Agents 2
Route of Administration
Oral 3
WHO Essential MedicineSourced to the subject's own account
Complementary List 4
Connections

Long-Form Articles

Sources
1. Procarbazine (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section
    Procarbazine is in the alkylating agents family of medication
  • Pharmacology section
    Procarbazine works, in part, as an alkylating agent and methylates guanine at the O-6 position
  • Lead section, uses sentence
    Used for the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma and brain cancers
  • Lead section, approval sentence
    Procarbazine was approved for medical use in the United States in 1969
  • Lead section, pregnancy sentence
    Use in pregnancy is known to harm the baby
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procarbazine, lead section
    used with lomustine and vincristine. It is typically taken by mouth.
  • Regulatory approval status
View the Source
2. Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFirst-level anatomical group codes, Code L
Quote, First-level anatomical group codes, Code L
Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents
View the Source
3. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
4. WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWHO Model List of Essential Medicines, Cytotoxic medicines section
Quote, WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, Cytotoxic medicines section
Procarbazine
View the Source
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