Effect of coadministration of thymine or thymidine on the antitumor activity of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil and 5-fluorouracil

The antitumor activity of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil (FT-207) on sarcoma was enhanced by oral coadministration of uracil, thymine, or thymidine. The activity was enhanced equally by thymine and by uracil but to a lesser extent by thymidine, but thymine caused loss in body weight. The antitumor activity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was also enhanced by thymine or uracil, but both caused loss in body weight. Degradation of 5-FU in vitro was inhibited more by thymine than by uracil. Phosphorylation of 5-FU, however, was not inhibited by uracil, thymine, or thymidine, even at 100 times the concentration of 5-FU. These results suggest that the mechanism of enhancement of the antitumor activity of FT-207 by thymine or thymidine was similar to that by uracil, and that uracil had more effect than thymine or thymidine in enhancing antitumor effect of these drugs to FT-207 without toxicity.