Daily Medication Pearl: Capecitabine (Xeloda)

Medication Pearl of the Day: Capecitabine (Xeloda)

Indication: Capecitabine (Xeloda) is a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor with antineoplastic activity indicated for adjuvant colon cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and metastatic breast cancer.

Insight:

• Dosing: Monotherapy 1250 mg/m2 twice daily orally for 2 weeks followed by a 1-week rest period in 3-week cycles.
• Dosage forms: Tablets 150 mg and 500 mg.
• Adverse events: Most common adverse reactions (≥30%) were diarrhea, hand-and-foot syndrome, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue/weakness, and hyperbilirubinemia. Other adverse reactions, including serious adverse reactions, have been reported
• Mechanism of action: Enzymes convert capecitabine to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in vivo. Both normal and tumor cells metabolize 5-FU to 5-fluoro-2’-deoxyuridine monophosphate and 5-fluorouridine triphosphate. These metabolites cause cell injury by 2 different mechanisms.

Source: XELODA (capecitabine) tablets, for oral use (fda.gov)