SYN: arabinosylcytosine.
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n.
a cytotoxic drug used to suppress the symptoms of some types of leukaemia. It is administered by injection and can damage the normal bone marrow, leading to various blood cell disorders. Other side-effects are nausea, vomiting, mouth ulcers, and diarrhoea. Trade name: Cytosar.
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cy·tar·a·bine (ara-C) (si-tarґə-bēn) [USP] a deoxycytidine analogue, cytosine arabinoside, that is metabolically activated to the triphosphate nucleotide (ara-CTP), which acts as a competitive inhibitor of DNA polymerase and produces S phase–specific cytotoxicity; used as an antineoplastic, generally as part of a combination chemotherapy regimen, in the treatment of acute lymphocytic and acute myelogenous leukemia and the blast phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia, administered intravenously and subcutaneously, and for the prophylaxis and treatment of meningitis associated with leukemia, administered intrathecally. Called also arabinosylcytosine.Medical dictionary. 2011.