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CeeNU
Chemotherapy treatment with CeeNU may help people who have certain brain tumors or Hodgkin's lymphoma. This prescription drug comes as capsules that are taken once every six weeks. Your dosage will be calculated based on your height, weight, and various other factors. Side effects are common with this drug and may include nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
CeeNU® (lomustine) is a prescription chemotherapy medication. It belongs to the general class of chemotherapy drugs known as alkylating agents, as well as the subclass of alkylating agents called nitrosoureas.
CeeNU is approved to treat brain tumors in people who have already been treated with surgery and radiation therapy. It is also approved for use in combination with other chemotherapy medicines to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma (also known as Hodgkin's disease) that has become worse or has not adequately responded to other treatment.
CeeNU is also sometimes referred to as CCNU because its chemical name is chloroethyl-cyclohexyl-nitrosourea.
(Click CeeNU Uses for more information on this topic, including possible off-label uses.)
CeeNU is made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
As previously mentioned, CeeNU belongs to a group of medications called alkylating agents. In general, alkylating agents transfer a piece of their structure, called an alkyl group, to DNA. This causes the strands of DNA to bond to each other and become linked (known as "cross-linking"). The linked strands cannot uncoil and separate, which is necessary for the DNA to replicate. Because DNA replication is essential for cells to grow and multiply, alkylating medications like CeeNU prevent cell growth and multiplication.
Written by/reviewed by: Susan Lakey, PharmD, MPH, BCPP
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD