About your treatment  

Your doctor has ordered the drug mercaptopurine to help treat your illness. The drug is taken by mouth in tablet form.

This medication is used to treat:

• leukemia

This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Mercaptopurine belongs to a group of drugs known as antimetabolites. It resembles a normal cell nutrient needed by cancer cells to grow. The cancer cells take up mercaptopurine which then interferes with their growth.

Other uses for this medicine  

Mercaptopurine is also used to treat many types of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, acute idiopathic polyneuritis, acute idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, psoriatic arthritis, erythroid aplasia, or myelofibrosis; idiopathic hemolytic anemia; macroglobulinemia; idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura; idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis; multiple sclerosis; myasthenia gravis; uveitis; and ulcerative colitis. Talk to your doctor about the possible risks of using this drug for your condition.

Special instructions  

• Drink plenty of fluids. Drink about 10 eight-ounce glasses of fluid and urinate frequently during the first 24 hours after treatment to keep your kidneys working.
• The most common side effect of mercaptopurine is a decrease in the number of blood cells. Your doctor may order tests before, during, and after your treatment to see if your blood cells are affected by the drug.

Brand names  

Other names