Gemcitabine Hcl is a chemotherapy drug that is given as a treatment for some types of cancer. Gemcitabine Hcl is most commonly used to treat non small cell lung cancer, pancreatic, and bladder cancer.
Gemcitabine Hcl is a pyrimidine analog, is structurally similar to cytarabine, but has a wider spectrum of antitumour activity due to its different cellular pharmacology and mechanism of action. Gemcitabine is metabolized intracellularly to two active metabolites, gemcitabine diphosphate (dFdCDP) and gemcitabine triphosphate (dFdCTP). The cytotoxic effects of gemcitabine are exerted through incorporation of dFdCTP into DNA with the assistance of dFdCDP, resulting in inhibition of DNA synthesis and induction of apoptosis. Gemcitabine is a radiation-sensitizing agent. It is cell-cycle phase specific (S and G1/S-phases). |
