Trade names Dacogen MedlinePlus a608009 Routes of
administration Intravenous | AHFS/Drugs.com Monograph Pregnancy
category D ATC code L01BC08 (WHO) | |
 | ||
Decitabine (trade name Dacogen), or 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, acts as an Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitor. It is a drug for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, a class of conditions where certain blood cells are dysfunctional, and for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Chemically, it is a cytidine analog.
Contents
Mechanism
Decitabine is a hypomethylating agent. It hypomethylates DNA by inhibiting DNA methyltransferase.
It functions in a similar manner to azacitidine, although decitabine can only be incorporated into DNA strands while azacitidine can be incorporated into both DNA and RNA chains.
Clinical uses
Decitabine is indicated for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) including previously treated and untreated, de novo and secondary MDS of all French-American-British subtypes (refractory anemia, refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts, refractory anemia with excess blasts, refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation, and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia) and Intermediate-1, Intermediate-2, and High-Risk International Prognostic Scoring System groups. In patients with renal insufficiency, Batty and colleagues reported the first case series on the feasibility of therapy with hypomethylating agents in patients with renal insufficiency.
It also has EU approval for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).