Case report of capecitabine toxicity and use of uridine triacetate

• Published in: Journal of oncology pharmacy practice Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 470 - 473
• Main Authors: Oliver, Wesley D, Duffy, Alison P, Hausner, Petr F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-03-2019; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: 5-Fluorouracil; Age; Cancer; Case reports; Chemotherapy; Overdose; Patients; Thymidylate synthase; Toxicity; Uridine; toxicity; fluorouracil; Capecitabine; uridine triacetate
• ISSN: 1078-1552; 1477-092X
• DOI: 10.1177/1078155217730662

Fluorouracil and capecitabine are fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy agents that are commonly used for various cancers. These agents are generally well tolerated at standard doses; however, it has been reported that 31–34% of patients develop dose-limiting toxicities. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase and thymidylate synthase play a major role in fluorouracil and capecitabine activity and toxicity. Uridine triacetate has shown promising results for the emergency treatment of patients who either receive an overdose of the cancer treatment fluorouracil or capecitabine or to treat patients who exhibit early-onset, severe, or life-threatening toxicity. We describe a case of a patient who developed capecitabine toxicity and was unsuccessfully treated with uridine triacetate.