Chemical Properties
Crystalline Solid
Chemical Properties
Procarbazine is a white to pale yellow crystal-
line powder with a slight odor.
Uses
Antineoplastic;DNA replication inhibitor
Uses
Procarbazine hydrochloride USP is used to traet Hodgkin’s disease; non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas; lung cancer.
Definition
ChEBI: A hydrochloride obtained by combining procarbazine with one equivalent of hydrochloric acid. An antineoplastic chemotherapy drug used for treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Metabolism yields azo-procarbazine and hydrogen peroxide, which results in the breaki
g of DNA strands.
brand name
Matulane (Sigma-Tau).
General Description
Procarbazine is available in 50-mg tablets for oral administrationin the treatment of Hodgkin’s (part of MOPP) andnon-Hodgkin’s disease, brain cancer, and mycosis fungoides.The major mechanisms of resistance appear to beenhanced activity of DNA-repair enzymes including enhancedO-6-alkylguanine DNA transferase (AGAT),which removes the methyl group from the O-6 of guanine.The agent is rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administrationand extensively metabolized in the liver togive azo-procarbazine followed by further oxidation tomethyldiazine and the aldehyde. The parent drug andmetabolites cross the blood-brain barrier. Elimination occursin the urine mostly as metabolites with an eliminationhalf-life of 1 hour. Myelosuppression is dose limiting, generallypresenting as thrombocytopenia that may be followedby leucopenia. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenasedeficient patients may develop hemolytic anemia duringprocarbazine therapy. Other adverse effects include nausea,vomiting, hypersensitivity, flulike symptoms, amenorrhea,and azoospermia. Central nervous symptom effectsmay be seen, including lethargy, confusion, neuropathies,and seizure.
General Description
White to pale yellow crystalline powder with a slight odor. Acid to litmus.
Air & Water Reactions
In the presence of moisture or in aqueous solution undergoes oxidation by atmospheric oxygen. Water soluble.
Reactivity Profile
Procarbazine hydrochloride is very sensitive to light. Stability is highest in aqueous acid and decreases with increasing pH. Degrades rapidly in alcoholic media and more slowly in aqueous media .
Fire Hazard
Flash point data for Procarbazine hydrochloride are not available; however, Procarbazine hydrochloride is probably combustible.
Safety Profile
Confirmed carcinogen
with experimental carcinogenic,
neoplastigenic, tumorigenic, and teratogenic
data. Poison by an unspecified route.
Moderately toxic by ingestion,
subcutaneous, intravenous, and
intraperitoneal routes. Experimental
reproductive effects. Mutation data
reported. When heated to decomposition it
emits very toxic fumes of NOx and HCl.
Used as a chemotherapeutic agent.
Potential Exposure
Procarbazine is available in capsule
form. The primary use of this drug is as an antineoplastic
agent in the treatment of advanced Hodgkin’s disease, and
oat-cell carcinoma of the lung. The hydrochloride com-
pound is used in treatment. The FDA approved use of pro-
carbazine hydrochloride in 1969 and indicated that the drug
should be used as an adjunct to standard therapy. Possible
exposure occurs during manufacture of the drug and direct
exposure during its subsequent administration to patients.
Some of the metabolites of procarbazine hydrochloride are
both carcinostatic and carcinogenic.
Veterinary Drugs and Treatments
In veterinary medicine, procarbazine is used as part of MOPP protocols
(mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone) to
treat lymphomas in dogs and cats. It may be of benefit in treating
granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) in dogs.
Shipping
UN2811 Toxic solids, organic, n.o.s., Hazard
Class: 6.1; Labels: 6.1-Poisonous materials, Technical
Name Required.
Incompatibilities
Incompatible with oxidizers (chlorates,
nitrates, peroxides, permanganates, perchlorates, chlorine,
bromine, fluorine, etc.); contact may cause fires or
explosions. Keep away from alkaline materials, strong
bases, strong acids, oxoacids, epoxides.
Waste Disposal
It is inappropriate and
possibly dangerous to the environment to dispose of
expired or waste drugs and pharmaceuticals by flushing
them down the toilet or discarding them to the trash.
Household quantities of expired or waste pharmaceuticals
may be mixed with wet cat litter or coffee grounds,
double-bagged in plastic, discard in trash. Larger quanti-
ties shall carefully take into consideration applicable
DEA, EPA, and FDA regulations. If possible return the
pharmaceutical to the manufacturer for proper disposal
being careful to properly label and securely package
the material. Alternatively, the waste pharmaceutical
shall be labeled, securely packaged and transported by a
state licensed medical waste contractor to dispose by
burial in a licensed hazardous or toxic waste landfill
or incinerator.
