How does Topotecan Hydrochloride work?

How does Topotecan Hydrochloride work?

Topotecan is a type of chemotherapy drug called a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor. It works by blocking a chemical called topoisomerase 1. This chemical helps to separate and repair the DNA in cells when they divide. Cancer cells need to make and repair DNA in order to grow and multiply.

How does Topotecan enter cancer cells?

Topotecan is given by an intravenous (IV) infusion (a slow drip through a needle into your port or through a vein in your arm or hand). We use it most commonly in our office for the treatment of ovarian and cervical cancers.

What is the mode of action of topotecan?

Topotecan has the same mechanism of action as irinotecan and is believed to exert its cytotoxic effects during the S-phase of DNA synthesis. Topoisomerase I relieves torsional strain in DNA by inducing reversible single strand breaks.

What type of inhibitor is topotecan?

Drug type: Topotecan is an anti-cancer (“antineoplastic” or “cytotoxic”) chemotherapy drug. This medication is classified as a “topoisomerase 1 inhibitor.” (For more detail, see “How this drug works” section below).

When is topotecan used?

Topotecan injection is used to treat patients with metastatic cancer (a cancer that has already spread) of the ovaries after other treatments have failed. This medicine is also used to treat a certain type of lung cancer called small cell lung cancer.

Is topotecan cell cycle specific?

The anticancer agent topotecan is considered to be S-phase specific. This implies that cancer cells that are not actively replicating DNA could resist the effects of the drug.

What is carboplatin mechanism of action?

Mechanism of action Carboplatin undergoes activation inside cells and forms reactive platinum complexes that cause the intra- and inter-strand cross-linkage of DNA molecules within the cell. This modifies the DNA structure and inhibits DNA synthesis. This may affect a cell in all the phases of its cycle.

Is topotecan an irritant?

Clinicians use the term irritant also to refer to drugs that can cause a burning sensation in the vein while being administered: Bendamustine, bleomycin, carboplatin, dexrasoxane, etoposide, teniposide, and topotecan.

Which part of the cell does fluorouracil affect during the S phase of the cell cycle?

5-FU acts during the S phase of the cell cycle inhibiting DNA synthesis by restricting availability of thymidylate (S1 Fig.). TP is also a key enzyme for production of the 5-FU active metabolite [4]. 5-Fluorouracil inhibits thymidylate synthetase through its metabolite 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP).

What is topotecan hydrochloride used to treat?

It is used with another drug, called cisplatin. Ovarian cancer in patients whose disease has not gotten better with other chemotherapy. Small cell lung cancer in patients whose disease has not gotten better with other chemotherapy. Topotecan hydrochloride is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

How does topotecan inhibit topoisomerase I activity?

Topotecan inhibits topoisomerase I activity by stabilizing the topoisomerase I-DNA covalent complexes during S phase of cell cycle, thereby inhibiting religation of topoisomerase I-mediated single-strand DNA breaks and producing potentially lethal double-strand DNA breaks when encountered by the DNA replication machinery.

What are the possible adverse effects of topotecan for ovarian cancer?

Among patients receiving IV topotecan for ovarian cancer or small cell lung cancer, other adverse effects included fatigue in 29%, pyrexia in 28%, asthenia in 25%, and pain (including body pain, back pain, and skeletal pain) in 23% of patients.

Is there a generic version of topotecan?

Chemocare.com uses generic names in all descriptions of drugs. Hycamtin is the trade name for topotecan. In some cases, health care professionals may use the trade name hycamtin when referring to the generic drug name topotecan. Drug type: Topotecan is an anti-cancer (“antineoplastic” or “cytotoxic”) chemotherapy drug.