Definition

A pyrimidine nucleoside analogue of cytidine with antineoplastic activity. Azacitidine is incorporated into DNA, where it reversibly inhibits DNA methyltransferase, thereby blocking DNA methylation. Hypomethylation of DNA by azacitidine may activate tumor suppressor genes silenced by hypermethylation, resulting in an antitumor effect. This agent is also incorporated into RNA, thereby disrupting normal RNA function and impairing tRNA cytosine-5-methyltransferase activity.