What is "sapacitabine"

n. An oral nucleoside analogue prodrug with potential uses in chemotherapy.

Sapacitabine is a drug undergoing research for potential use in chemotherapy.

Sapacitabine is an oral nucleoside analog prodrug that acts through a dual mechanism. The compound interferes with DNA synthesis by causing single-strand DNA breaks and induces arrest of the cell division cycle at G2 phase.

Both sapacitabine and its major metabolite, CNDAC, have demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in both blood and solid tumors in preclinical studies. In a liver metastatic mouse model, sapacitabine was shown to be superior to gemcitabine (Gemzar; Lilly) or 5-FU, two widely used nucleoside analogs, in delaying the onset and growth of liver metastasis.