Clinical medicine profile
Cytarabine (Cytosine arabinoside)
Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class)
- Route
- See product SmPC
- Schedule
- POM
- ATC
- Not assigned
- PPB status
- registered
This profile needs source confirmation
A traceable source link is not attached to this profile. Confirm prescribing decisions against the current SmPC and Kenya STG/EML.
Safety essentials
The information most likely to change a prescribing or dispensing decision.
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance or excipients.
- Additional absolute contraindications are indication- and product-specific — consult SmPC.
Precautions
- Only physicians experienced in cancer chemotherapy should use it
- increased incidence of infections
- increased incidence of hemorrhagic complications
- blood counts should be performed at least once a week.
Dosing matrix
Population and organ-function guidance, shown together for faster comparison.
100 mg/m2/day by continuous IV infusion from day 1 through 7 or 100 mg/ m2IV every 12 hours day 1 through 7 [in combination with other antineoplastics]. Consult specialist literature for further information.
See label paediatric section if present; otherwise use paediatric formulary — do not extrapolate adult doses.
Review renal impairment dosing; many agents need CrCl/eGFR adjustment.
- CrCl 0–120: Confirm renal dosing in product SmPC / primary label.
Review hepatic impairment dosing; monitor LFTs if agent is hepatically cleared or hepatotoxic.
Use, effects & interactions
Indications
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) which include - acute promyelocytic, monocytic, myelomonocytic, megakaryoblastic, and erythroid leukemias
- acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
- meningeal leukemia and other meningeal neoplasms
- chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)
- non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in children
- myelodysplastic syndrome.
- It is used principally as a component of various chemotherapeutic regimens.
Adverse effects
- Bone marrow suppression [main adverse reaction] with leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia
- vomiting
- diarrhea and abdominal pain
- oral ulceration
- hepatic dysfunction
Drug interactions
Open multi-drug checker ↗- Professional use: confirm indication, dose, duration, monitoring and patient counselling points against current Kenya STG / EML and the product SmPC.
- Document allergy status and key interactions.
Mechanism & disposition
It is a synthetic pyrimidine nucleoside in which the sugar moiety is arabinose instead of ribose or deoxyribose.
Read complete mechanism
It is a synthetic pyrimidine nucleoside in which the sugar moiety is arabinose instead of ribose or deoxyribose. It is a pyrimidine antagonist antimetabolite, which is activated to cytarabine triphosphate in the tissues. This in turn inhibits of DNA polymerase and incorporation of cytarabine into DNA and RNA.
Product-specific
Product-specific
See product SmPC
are product-specific. Consider food effects, protein binding, hepatic CYP/UGT
when adjusting for organ impairment, age and drug interactions. Verify parameters in the current SmPC.
Pregnancy, lactation & diet
Use only if potential benefit justifies potential risk; prefer agents with better reproductive data when alternatives exist.
Assess infant risk vs benefit of maternal therapy; prefer agents with lactation data.
Brands & loaded prices
| Brand | Manufacturer | Pack | Observed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| No reviewed brand listings are linked yet. | |||
Sources & review state
Decision support only. Confirm patient-specific decisions against the current product SmPC, Kenya STG/EML, and professional judgement.