Metabolic characteristics and antitumor activity of BOF-A2, a new 5-fluorouracil derivative

A new 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) derivative, BOF-A2 (3-[3-(6-benzoyloxy-3-cyano-2-pyridyloxycarbonyl)benzoyl]-1- ethoxymethyl- 5-fluorouracil), is consisted of EM-FU (1-ethoxymethyl-5-fluorouracil) which is specifically and gradually converted to 5-FU by the drug-metabolizing enzyme of liver microsomes and CNDP (3-cyano-2,6-dihydroxypyridine), a potent inhibitor of 5-FU degradation in the liver. When BOF-A2 was given orally, blood levels of the main metabolites, EM-FU and CNDP, were maintained for a longer time in the tumor-bearing rats, and eventually the blood 5-FU levels were maintained over 12 hours. Moreover, 5-FU levels in the tumor tissue tended to be maintained higher and longer time over 24 hrs. than those in the blood of rats. Antitumor activity of such characterized BOF-A2 was investigated with transplantable tumors in rodents and DMBA-induced breast carcinomas in rats. The ED 50 (the dose for 50% inhibition of tumor growth) value was about 15 to 25 mg/kg against the tumors tested. These result may suggest that BOF-A2 has potent antitumor activity in accordance to the long persistence of 5-FU level in the tumor tissue.