What is "tioguanine"

n. A particular drug used to treat cancer.

Tioguanine, also known as thioguanine or 6-thioguanine (6-TG) is a medication used to treat a number of types of leukemia. It has been used less frequently in recent years because of safety concerns. However, it is becoming more widely used for treating ulcerative colitis and some autoimmune diseases.

It belongs to the thiopurine family of drugs that also include mercaptopurine and azathioprine, which are examples of antimetabolites. It is a purine analogue of the nucleobase guanine. It is a pale yellow, odorless, crystalline powder.

It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. The wholesale price is 177.00 USD per pill as of 2014. It is marketed under the trade name Lanvis and Tabloid among others.