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Mercaptopurine is a daily tablet, or a liquid for children, that keeps acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in remission during the long maintenance phase of treatment.
Mercaptopurine, developed by Elion and Hitchings and approved in 1953, is indicated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia as part of a combination maintenance regimen; daily oral mercaptopurine with weekly methotrexate for two to three years is the backbone of maintenance in every paediatric and adult ALL protocol. Purixan (2014) is an oral suspension that made accurate paediatric dosing possible; the EU authorised the equivalent Xaluprine in 2012. TPMT and NUDT15 genotyping is recommended before starting because poor metabolisers suffer life-threatening myelosuppression on standard doses; hepatotoxicity and a small excess of later malignancy are recognised. Thioguanine is the related agent used in AML.
Purine analogue converted to thioguanine nucleotides that are incorporated into DNA and RNA and inhibit de novo purine synthesis; inactivated by TPMT and NUDT15, whose variants dictate dosing.
1.Mercaptopurine slips into a pocket on its target.
Compare all products across the US, EU, UK, Japan, China and Australia →
| Region | Year | Indication |
|---|---|---|
| US | 1953 | Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, combination maintenance therapy |
| US | 2014 | Oral suspension for ALL maintenance (Purixan) |
| EU | 2012 | ALL in adults, adolescents and children (Xaluprine oral suspension) |
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Query for this drug: (TITLE:"Mercaptopurine" OR ABSTRACT:"Mercaptopurine" OR TITLE:"Purinethol" OR ABSTRACT:"Purinethol" OR TITLE:"Purixan" OR ABSTRACT:"Purixan" OR TITLE:"6-MP" OR ABSTRACT:"6-MP" OR TITLE:"Xaluprine" OR ABSTRACT:"Xaluprine") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Mercaptopurine, not a curated reading list.
Shares Inotuzumab Ozogamicin and Frontline Chemotherapy in Treating Young Adults With Newly Diagnosed B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, International Collaborative Treatment Protocol For Children And Adolescents With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Combination Chemotherapy With or Without Lestaurtinib in Treating Younger Patients With Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed High-Risk B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Ph-Like TKI Sensitive Mutations and the tag generic.
Shares LCH-IV, International Collaborative Treatment Protocol for Children and Adolescents With Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, Inotuzumab Ozogamicin and Frontline Chemotherapy in Treating Young Adults With Newly Diagnosed B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, International Collaborative Treatment Protocol For Children And Adolescents With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Combination Chemotherapy With or Without Lestaurtinib in Treating Younger Patients With Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and the tag generic.
Shares Phase II Study of Carmustine, Streptozocin, and Mercaptopurine for Refractory or Recurrent Brain Neoplasms, Cytotoxic chemotherapy and the tag generic.
Shares LCH-IV, International Collaborative Treatment Protocol for Children and Adolescents With Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, Cytotoxic chemotherapy and the tag generic.
Shares Therapy for Pediatric Relapsed or Refractory Precursor B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Lymphoma, Cytotoxic chemotherapy and the tag generic.
Shares Combination Chemotherapy With or Without Lestaurtinib in Treating Younger Patients With Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed High-Risk B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Ph-Like TKI Sensitive Mutations, High-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children (high-risk B-ALL and T-ALL), Methotrexate and the tag generic.
Shares International Collaborative Treatment Protocol For Children And Adolescents With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Cytotoxic chemotherapy and the tag generic.
Shares Cytotoxic chemotherapy and the tag generic.