Azacitidine

General information

Azacitidine has been approved for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome. It inhibits DNA methyltransferase, resulting in hypomethylation of DNA and direct cytotoxicity in abnormal hemopoietic cells in the bone marrow. The recommended dosage is 75 mg/m ² /day given subcutaneously for 7 days every 4 weeks [ ]. The absolute systemic availability after subcutaneous administration is about 89%. After intravenous and subcutaneous administration the half-life is 0.36 and 0.69 hours respectively [ ].