Gemcitabine
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| Pronunciation | /dʒɛmˈsaɪtəbiːn/ |
| Trade names | Gemzar, others |
| Other names | 2', 2'-difluoro 2'deoxycytidine, dFdC |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
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| Routes of administration | Intravenous |
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| Protein binding | <10% |
| Elimination half-life | Short infusions: 32–94 minutes Long infusions: 245–638 minutes |
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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.124.343 |
| Chemical and physical data | |
| Formula | C9H11F2N3O4 |
| Molar mass | 263.201 g·mol−1 |
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Gemcitabine, sold under the brand name Gemzar, among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat cancers. It is used to treat testicular cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer. It is administered by intravenous infusion. It acts against neoplastic growth, and it inhibits the replication of Orthohepevirus A, the causative agent of Hepatitis E, through upregulation of interferon signaling.
Common side effects include bone marrow suppression, liver and kidney problems, nausea, fever, rash, shortness of breath, mouth sores, diarrhea, neuropathy, and hair loss. Use during pregnancy will likely result in fetal harm. Gemcitabine is in the nucleoside analog family of medication. It works by blocking the creation of new DNA, which results in cell death.
Gemcitabine was patented in 1983 and was approved for medical use in 1995. Generic versions were introduced in Europe in 2009 and in the US in 2010. It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.