Alkylating agent

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Alkylating agent

An alkylating agent (pronunciation: al-ky-lay-ting ay-gent) is a type of chemotherapy drug used in the treatment of cancer. These agents work by adding an alkyl group to the guanine base of the DNA, which prevents the DNA from dividing and thus stops the growth of cancer cells.

Etymology

The term "alkylating agent" is derived from the word "alkyl", which is a type of chemical group consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The term "agent" is used in the sense of a substance that brings about a chemical reaction.

Types of Alkylating Agents

There are several types of alkylating agents used in chemotherapy, including:

Side Effects

Like all chemotherapy drugs, alkylating agents can have side effects. These can include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and bone marrow suppression.

See Also

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski