Talk:Capecitabine

structure is wrong
The structure in this article is wrong - the N4 side group should be a pentyloxycarbamate, i.e. R-NH(C=O)O-(CH2)4CH3.

See http://cancerquest.org/index.cfm?page=1179

22:14, 7 July 2006‎ Scoutts6151

May erase your fingerprints!
Interesting story on the BBC News website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8064332.stm.

"A commonly-used cancer drug can make patients' fingerprints disappear, potentially causing problems for foreign travel, a doctor warns."

A man was taking capecitabine, which was causing hand-foot syndrome and led to the loss of his fingerprints. Unable to scan his fingerprints and check them against their database(s), US border officials detained him for four hours until they could verify his identity by other means.

Also covered by many medical websites, e.g. http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/Chemotherapy/14391.

Original paper in Annals of Oncology: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdp278 M. Wong, S.-P. Choo, E.-H. Tan, "Travel warning with capecitabine", ''Ann. Oncol'' (2009) 21, ???-???].

Ben (talk) 16:47, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I can anecdotally confirm this. I am taking capecitabine 2000mg twice a day, and have got slightly swollen fingertips. But it's enough to remove fingerprints in the central part of where they are usually taken. The skin there is very shiny, it is obvious that the prints are gone. Area-wise, perhaps half of the fingerprints are gone. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.146.158.34 (talk) 10:15, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

Dosage? - calculated according to body surface area
The article gives 'The usual starting dose is 2,500 mg/m2/day' surely that middle term can't mean square metres? I don't understand that. Anyone help? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.143.55.145 (talk) 21:15, 17 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I THINK it's supposed to mean 2500mg twice a day. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.146.158.34 (talk) 10:10, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

It does mean metres squared. p4 of the Xoloda prescribing info says "XELODA dose is calculated according to body surface area." Table 1 shows daily doses for surface areas from <1.25 m2 to >2.18 m2. - Rod57 (talk) 15:33, 12 June 2016 (UTC) body surface area shows 9 different formulae for calculating BSA from height and weight. - Rod57 (talk) 20:49, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Also useful for pancreatic cancer
A recent trial shows Gemzar-Xeloda Tx: The New Standard in Pancreatic Ca? it can usefully be added to gemcitabine to manage [some] pancreatic cancer. - Rod57 (talk) 15:39, 12 June 2016 (UTC)
 * My attempt to mention this - with a secondary source was reverted with not MEDRS. This news has been widely reported and discussed so I'm surprised anyone thinks the article is better without it. - Rod57 (talk) 21:39, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
 * this was the edit. the sources were this commenter and a conference abstract.   This drug, like many  others, may fail in subsequent trials or never get regulatory approval or may fail for business reasons and never matter.  We are WP:NOTNEWS.  That is policy.   There are lots of websites people can follow to get news on drugs in development. We can wait for MEDRS sources - there is WP:NODEADLINE here (because we are not a newspaper)  Jytdog (talk) 22:07, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Still expensive even with four generics on the market
According to Forbes : Generic Chemo Is Too Expensive To Help Curb Cancer Spending, Study Says - Could mention the generics ? - Rod57 (talk) 10:20, 6 October 2017 (UTC)