Methotrexate (MTX), formerly known as amethopterin, is a chemotherapy agent and immune-system suppressant. It is used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies. Types of cancers it is used for include breast cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, lymphoma, gestational trophoblastic disease, and osteosarcoma. Types of autoimmune diseases it is used for include psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohns disease. It can be given by mouth or by injection.Common side effects include nausea, feeling tired, fever, increased risk of infection, low white blood cell counts, and breakdown of the skin inside the mouth. Other side effects may include liver disease, lung disease, lymphoma, and severe skin rashes. People on long-term treatment should be regularly checked for side effects. It is not safe during breastfeeding. In those with kidney problems, lower doses may be needed. It acts by blocking the bodys use of folic acid.Methotrexate was first made in 1947 and initially was used to treat cancer, as it was less toxic than the then current treatments. In 1956 it provided the first cures of a metastatic cancer. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Methotrexate is available as a generic medication. In 2019, it was the 111th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 5 million prescriptions. Medical uses
Chemotherapy
Methotrexate was originally developed and continues to be used for chemotherapy, either alone or in combination with other agents.
History
In 1947, a team of researchers led by Sidney Farber showed aminopterin, a chemical analogue of folic acid developed by Yellapragada Subbarao of Lederle, could induce remission in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The development of folic acid analogues had been prompted by the discovery that the administration of folic acid worsened leukemia, and that a diet deficient in folic acid could, conversely, produce improvement; the mechanism of action behind these effects was still unknown at the time. Other analogues of folic acid were in development, and by 1950, methotrexate (then known as amethopterin) was being proposed as a treatment for leukemia. Animal studies published in 1956 showed the therapeutic index of methotrexate was better than that of aminopterin, and clinical use of aminopterin was thus abandoned in favor of methotrexate. In 1951, Jane C. Wright demonstrated the use of methotrexate in solid tumors, showing remission in breast cancer. Wrights group was the first to demonstrate use of the drug in solid tumors, as opposed to leukemias, which are a cancer of the marrow. Min Chiu Li and his collaborators then demonstrated complete remission in women with choriocarcinoma and chorioadenoma in 1956, and in 1960 Wright et al. produced remissions in mycosis fungoides. Research
In 2018, a photoactivated version of methotrexate (phototrexate) has been developed and proposed to be useful in localized, target-specific chemotherapy of psoriasis and cancer. References
43. Peymanfar, Yaser, Yu-Wen Su, and Cory J. Xian. 2022. "Notch2 Blockade Mitigates Methotrexate Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Loss and Marrow Adiposity" Cells 11, no. 9: 1521. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11091521

External links
"Methotrexate".