US EPA

7477562 

Journal Article 

Review 

Role of capecitabine (Xeloda) in breast cancer 

Kaklamani, VG; Gradishar, WJ 

2003 

Yes 

Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy
ISSN: 1473-7140 

Future Drugs Ltd 

3 

2 

137-144 

English 

12722873 

10.1586/14737140.3.2.137 

One rationale for the development of new treatment strategies for advanced breast cancer is to provide targeted antineoplastic therapy, while at the same time improving the quality of life of patients. One such drug, capecitabine (Xeloda), is an oral fluoropyrimidine 5-fluorouracil carbamate. Capecitabine is converted to 5-fluorouracil primarily in cancer tissue and it has been demonstrated to combine ease of administration, a manageable toxicity profile and potent antineoplastic activity. Capecitabine is widely used in metastatic breast cancer and offers symptom palliation and in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere) improved survival compared with docetaxel alone. Its toxicity profile includes hand-foot syndrome and stomatitis and diarrhea, whereas its hematologic side effects are mild. Capecitabine has been evaluated as a single agent in women with advanced breast cancer where it offers an overall response rate of 20-30%. Capecitabine is synergistic with other chemotherapeutic agents, such as the taxanes, where it increases the response rate to over 40%. This review will place the available data on the use of capecitabine in metastatic breast cancer as a single agent or as part of a combination regime in context. 

5-FU; Breast cancer; Capecitabine; DPD; Oral fluoropyrimidines; Thymidylate synthase; Xeloda; anthracycline; antineoplastic agent; bevacizumab; capecitabine; cyclophosphamide; docetaxel; emollient agent; epirubicin; fluoropyrimidine derivative; fluorouracil; folinate calcium; loperamide; methotrexate; navelbine; octreotide; opiate; paclitaxel; pyridoxine; trastuzumab; abdominal pain; alopecia; antineoplastic activity; blood toxicity; breast cancer; cancer palliative therapy; cancer patient; cancer survival; cancer tissue; clinical trial; data analysis; deep vein thrombosis; diarrhea; drug half life; drug mechanism; drug megadose; drug metabolism; drug potentiation; drug response; drug use; fatigue; fever; gastrointestinal toxicity; hand foot syndrome; human; hypotension; leukopenia; lymphocytopenia; metastasis; myalgia; nausea; neutropenia; proteinuria; quality of life; retrospective study; review; stomatitis