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Home >Information for Patients > Dictionary Index
Dictionary of Cancer Terms
View in Spanish: Irinotecán
Irinotecan (I-rih-noh-TEE-kan)
The active ingredient in a drug used alone or in combination with other drugs to treat colon cancer or rectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body or has come back after treatment with fluorouracil. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Irinotecan blocks certain enzymes needed for cell division and DNA repair, and it may kill cancer cells. It is a type of topoisomerase inhibitor and a type of camptothecin analog.
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.
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22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
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