idarubicin idarubicin idarubicin /ˌaɪdəˈruːbɪsɪn/ or 4-demethoxydaunorubicin is an anthracycline antileukemic drug. it inserts itself into dna and prevents dna unwinding by interfering with the enzyme topoisomerase ii. it is an analog of daunorubicin, but the absence of a methoxy group increases its fat solubility and cellular uptake. similar to other anthracyclines, it also induces histone eviction from chromatin. idarubicinclinical dataother names9-acetyl-7-(4-amino-5-hydroxy-6-methyl-tetrahydropyran-2-yl)oxy-6,9,11-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrotetracene-5,12-dioneahfs/drugs.commonographmedlineplusa691004atc codel01db06 (who) legal statuslegal status us: ℞-only pharmacokinetic dataprotein binding97%elimination half-life22 hoursidentifiers iupac name (1s,3s)-3-acetyl-3,5,12-trihydroxy-6,11-dioxo-1,2,3,4,6,11-hexahydrotetracen-1-yl 3-amino-2,3,6-trideoxo-α-l-lyxo-hexopyranoside cas number58957-92-9 ypubchem cid42890iuphar/bps7083drugbankdb01177 ychemspider39117 yuniizrp63d75jwkeggd08062 ychebichebi:42068 ychemblchembl1117 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid7023142 chemical and physical dataformulac26h27no9molar mass497.500 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles o=c2c1c(o)c5c(c(o)c1c(=o)c3ccccc23)c(o)(c(=o)c)c5o4o((o)(n)c4)c inchi inchi=1s/c26h27no9/c1-10-21(29)15(27)7-17(35-10)36-16-9-26(34,11(2)28)8-14-18(16)25(33)20-19(24(14)32)22(30)12-5-3-4-6-13(12)23(20)31/h3-6,10,15-17,21,29,32-34h,7-9,27h2,1-2h3/t10-,15-,16-,17-,21+,26-/m0/s1 ykey:xdxdzdznslxdna-tzndiegxsa-n y (verify) it belongs to the family of drugs called antitumor antibiotics. it is currently combined with cytosine arabinoside as a first line treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. it is used for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast crisis. it is distributed under the trade names zavedos (uk) and idamycin (usa). side effects diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting are common among patients treated with idarubicin.