Complementary antineoplastic activity of the cytosine nucleoside analogues troxacitabine (Troxatyl) and cytarabine in human leukemia cells

Purpose Troxacitabine (BCH-4556, l-(−)-OddC, Troxatyl) is a novel β-l-nucleoside analogue with potent antineoplastic activity both in vitro and in several tumor models in vivo, and is presently in phase II clinical trials. The combination of the cytosine analogues troxacitabine and araC (1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine, cytarabine) has shown promising activity in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. To further examine the interactions between these two analogues, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of their combination against a human leukemia cell line, CCRF-CEM.