Are trifluridine, tipiracil (Lancever) a chemotherapy drug or a targeted therapy drug?

Trifluridine and tipiracil (Lonsurf) are chemotherapy drugs. It contains two active ingredients: trifluridine and tipiracil. These ingredients inhibit the growth and spread of tumor cells through different mechanisms, thereby playing a therapeutic role. Therefore, trifluridine and tipiracil are mainly used to treat some patients with advanced colorectal and gastric cancer.

Trifluridine (trifluridine) is a drug that inhibits DNA synthesis and plays an anti-tumor effect in cells. Uridine is a nucleoside analog that can be taken up by tumor cells and embedded into their DNA strands. When uridine is embedded in DNA strands, it can interfere with the normal synthesis process of DNA, thereby preventing the proliferation of tumor cells. Tipiracil is a drug that inhibits uridine metabolism. It blocks the uridine metabolism pathway by inhibiting the activity of uridylate deoxynucleotidase (TPase). This means that uridine can accumulate in the body for a longer period of time, thereby increasing its concentration and potency in tumor cells.

Although trifluridine and tipiracil are therapeutic, they are not targeted therapies. Targeted therapy drugs are a class of drugs that target specific molecules or signaling pathways in tumor cells. These drugs are designed to specifically interfere with the growth and spread of cancer cells. Unlike targeted therapy drugs, trifluridine and tipiracil extensively affect the biological processes of tumor cells by interfering withDNA synthesis and increasing uridine concentration.

Therefore, trifluridine and tipiracil have dual effects, namely interfering withDNA synthesis and increasing uridine concentration, thus inhibiting the growth and spread of tumor cells. It can fight against many types of tumor cells, namely patients with advanced colorectal cancer and gastric cancer.