Fluorouracil (5-FU), sold under the brand name Adrucil among others, is a cytotoxic chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. By intravenous injection it is used for treatment of colorectal cancer, oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer. As a cream it is used for actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, and skin warts.Side effects of use by injection are common. They may include inflammation of the mouth, loss of appetite, low blood cell counts, hair loss, and inflammation of the skin. When used as a cream, irritation at the site of application usually occurs. Use of either form in pregnancy may harm the baby. Fluorouracil is in the antimetabolite and pyrimidine analog families of medications. How it works is not entirely clear but believed to involve blocking the action of thymidylate synthase and thus stopping the production of DNA.Fluorouracil was patented in 1956 and came into medical use in 1962. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Medical uses
Fluorouracil has been given systemically for anal, breast, colorectal, oesophageal, stomach, pancreatic and skin cancers (especially head and neck cancers). It has also been given topically (on the skin) for actinic keratoses, skin cancers and Bowens disease and as eye drops for treatment of ocular surface squamous neoplasia. Other uses include ocular injections into a previously created trabeculectomy bleb to inhibit healing and cause scarring of tissue, thus allowing adequate aqueous humor flow to reduce intraocular pressure.
In 1958, Anthony R. Curreri, Fred J. Ansfield, Forde A. McIver, Harry A. Waisman, and Charles Heidelberger reported the first clinical findings of 5-FUs activity in cancer in humans. Natural analogues
In 2003, scientists isolated 5-fluorouracil derivatives, closely related compounds, from the marine sponge, Phakellia fusca collected around the Yongxing Island of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea. This is significant because fluorine-containing organic compounds are rare in nature, and  also because manmade anticancer drugs are not frequently found to have analogues in nature. Interactive pathway map
Click on genes, proteins and metabolites below to link to respective articles. Names
The name "fluorouracil" is the INN, USAN, USP name, and BAN. The form "5-fluorouracil" is often used; it shows that there is a fluorine atom on the 5th carbon of a uracil ring. References
Further reading
Dean L (2016). "Fluorouracil Therapy and DPYD Genotype". In Pratt VM, McLeod HL, Rubinstein WS,  et al. (eds.). Medical Genetics Summaries. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). PMID 28520376. Bookshelf ID: NBK395610. Latchman, Jessica; Guastella, Ann; Tofthagen, Cindy (1 October 2014). "5-Fluorouracil Toxicity and Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase Enzyme: Implications for Practice". Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 18 (5): 581–585. doi:10.1188/14.CJON.581-585. PMC 5469441. PMID 25253112. External links
"Fluorouracil". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. "Fluorouracil Topical". MedlinePlus.