Raltitrexed

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Raltitrexed (brand name Tomudex®) is a chemotherapy drug manufactured AstraZeneca Company, is an antimetabolite used in chemotherapy. It is an inhibitor of thymidylate synthase.

Used in treatment of colorectal cancer since 1998.

Raltitrexed is chemically similar to folic acid and is in the class of chemotherapy drugs called folate antimetabolites. It works by inhibiting enzyme used in pyrimidine synthesis —thymidylate synthase (TS). Raltitrexed is fully active after polyglutamylation. Inhibition of L1210 cell growth i culture IC₅₀ = 9 nM, is one of the strongest antimetabolite in use. By inhibiting the formation of precursor pyrimidine nucleotides, raltitrexed prevents the formation of DNA and RNA, which are required for the growth and survival of both normal cells and cancer cells.

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