Nelarabine (506U78) is a water-soluble prodrug of 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl guanine (ara-G). Nelarabine is readily converted to ara-G by endogenous adenosine deaminase. Nelarabine is a novel nucleoside with significant cytotoxic activity against malignant T cells.
In vivo
In T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, complete response to nelarabine treatment was observed in 13% patients.