Nelarabine is a purine nucleoside analog and antineoplastic agent used for the treatment of with acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma with inadequate clinical response to prior chemotherapeutic treatments. Nelarabine is an antineoplastic agent that is typically used to treat acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia, particularly T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL), in both adult and pediatric patients whose disease has...
- Mechanism
- Curator reviewed · 9 references
Once nelarabine is metabolized into ara-GTP, the metabolite accumulates in leukemic blasts and incorporates into DNA to exert its S phase-specific cytotoxic effects, leading to the induction of fragmentation and apoptosis. As a nucleoside analog, Ara-GTP competes with endogenous deoxyGTP (dGTP) for incorporation into DNA. Due to its intact 3'-OH group, ara-GTP can be incorporated into the growing DNA strand without absolute chain termination. Despite that, the inclusion of ara-GTP into DNA strand can impair proper DNA repair processes, although the exact mechanism is not well understood, leading to inhibition of DNA elongation, apoptosis, and cellular destruction. Additional cytotoxic activities may exist, but these are not fully understood.
- Primary indication
- ARRANON is indicated for the treatment of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) in adult and pediatric patients age 1 year and older whose disease has not responded to or has...Curator reviewed · 2 structured indications
- Formula / weight
- C11H15N5O5 · 297.2673 g/mol (avg)
- First approval
- Canada, 2022 · United States, 2006 · European Union, 2016
- Also known as
- Nelzarabine
- Code names
- 506U · 506U78 · GW-506U78
- Brand names
Resolves to
IXOXBSCIXZEQEQ-UHTZMRCNSA-NSMILESCOC1=NC(N)=NC2=C1N=CN2[C@@H]1O[C@H](CO)[C@@H](O)[C@@H]1OWhat you can answer from here — as of September 23, 2026
Which drugs share a target with Nelarabine, and which of those have an active Phase 3 trial?
Create a free account or log in to explore the full data card.
Create Account