Tegafur (FT 207; NSC 148958) is a chemotherapeutic 5-FU prodrug used in the treatment of cancers; is a component of tegafur-uracil.
Tegafur is bioactivated to 5-FU by liver microsomal cytochrome P450 enzymes. 5-FU is subsequently converted into its active metabolites 5-fluoro-deoxyuridine-monophosphate (FdUMP) and 5-fluorouridine-triphosphate (FUTP) intracellularly; these metabolites inhibit the enzyme thymidylate synthase and intercalate into RNA, resulting in decreased thymidine synthesis, reduced DNA synthesis, disrupted RNA function, and tumor cell cytotoxicity.
References:
[1]. Sotaro Sadahiro, Toshiyuki Suzuki, Akira Tanaka, et al. Association of right-sided tumors with high thymidine phosphorylase gene expression levels and the response to oral uracil and tegafur/leucovorin chemotherapy among patients with colorectal cancer. Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. 2012, 70 (2): 285-291.
[2]. José L. Ariasa, et al. Engineering of an antitumor (core/shell) magnetic nanoformulation based on the chemotherapy agent ftorafur. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. 2011,384(1-3): 157-163.
[3]. Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, William Heim, Laura Hutchins, et al. A phase 2 study of a fixed combination of uracil and ftorafur (UFT) and leucovorin given orally in a 3-times-daily regimen to treat patients with recurrent metastatic breast cancer. Cancer. 2010, 116(6): 1440-1445.
[4]. K. Fujita, H. Nakayama, W. Ichikawa, et al. Pharmacokinetics of 5-Fluorouracil in Elderly Japanese Patients with Cancer Treated with S-1 (a Combination of Tegafur and Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase Inhibitor 5-Chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine). Drug Metab Dispos. 2009 Jul;37(7):1375-7. doi: 10.1124/dmd.109.027052. Epub 2009 Apr 23.
[5]. Tegafur-uracil