Chlorambucil is an antineoplastic agent from the nitrogen mustard alkylating class. It is indicated in the treatment of chronic lymphatic leukemia, lymphosarcoma, giant follicular lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. This class of agents is named like that for their ability to add alkyl groups to many electronegative groups. They work by three different mechanisms all of which achieve the same result: death of the cancerous cell. The first mechanism of action is to attach alkyl groups to DNA bases. This causes the fragmentation of the DNA by repair enzymes. Secondly, the alkylating agents cause damage to DNA via the formation of cross-links. The cross-links prevent the DNA from being separated for synthesis or transcription. The third mechanism of action is the induction of mispairing of the bases, leading to many mutations.

Chlorambucil Pathway References