It is often given in combination with drugs that alter its bioavailability and toxicity such as gimeracil, oteracil or uracil.[3] These agents achieve this by inhibiting the enzyme dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (uracil/gimeracil) or orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (oteracil).[3]
Adverse effects
The major side effects of tegafur are similar to fluorouracil and include myelosuppression, central neurotoxicity and gastrointestinal toxicity (especially diarrhoea).[3] Gastrointestinal toxicity is the dose-limiting side effect of tegafur.[3] Central neurotoxicity is more common with tegafur than with fluorouracil.[3]
^El Sayed YM, Sadée W (September 1983). "Metabolic activation of R,S-1-(tetrahydro-2-furanyl)-5-fluorouracil (ftorafur) to 5-fluorouracil by soluble enzymes". Cancer Research. 43 (9): 4039–4044. PMID6409396.
^ abAmstutz U, Froehlich TK, Largiadèr CR (September 2011). "Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase gene as a major predictor of severe 5-fluorouracil toxicity". Pharmacogenomics. 12 (9): 1321–1336. doi:10.2217/pgs.11.72. PMID21919607.