Research Area: Cancer
Biological Activity:
Fluorouracil (5-FU or f5U) is a chemotherapy drug that is a pyrimidine analog which is used in the treatment of cancer. It works through noncompetitive inhibition of thymidylate synthase. Due to its noncompetitive nature and effects on thymidine synthesis, 5-FU is frequently referred to as the "suicide inactivator". It belongs to the family of drugs called antimetabolites. It is typically administered with leucovorin. [1] Fluorouracil IC50 values were observed across the National Cancer Institute NCI60 panel of human tumor cell lines, which exhibit a mean IC50 of 17.6 μM, with a range of 1–501 μM. [2]