What is "cladribine"

n. A particular drug used in chemotherapy.

Cladribine is a medication used to treat hairy cell leukemia (HCL, leukemic reticuloendotheliosis) and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Its chemical name is 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (2CdA).

As a purine analog, it is a synthetic chemotherapy agent that targets lymphocytes and selectively suppresses the immune system. Chemically, it mimics the nucleoside adenosine and thus inhibits the enzyme adenosine deaminase, which interferes with the cell's ability to process DNA. Cladribine is activated only by lymphocytes, and non-activated cladribine is removed quickly from all other cells. This means that there is very little non-target cell loss.