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Treating Prostate Cancer: Understanding Cancer Through Information
Treating Prostate Cancer: Understanding Cancer Through Information
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Oral Drug Improves Quality of Life
for Cancer Patients
Cancer patients normally need some much more concentrated in the cancer cancer that had spread to the lung.
form of chemotherapy – either as cells than in the surrounding tissue and "The patient didn’t want to undergo
first-line treatment or as adjuvant provides treatment efficacy that is another surgery to remove the lung
equivalent to 5-FU," explains Dr. Sze. tumor, so I prescribed a capecitabine-
therapy after surgical removal
based chemotherapy," says Dr. Sze.
of the tumor. For example, clinical trials that "The patient had a complete remission
compared conventional FOLFOX of the lung tumor after four treatment
However, chemotherapy causes chemotherapy with an oral capecitabine cycles – a very favorable outcome."
unwanted side ef fects, such as regimen in patients with colorectal
diarrhea, hair loss, nausea and skin cancer that had spread (metastasized) Although complete cure is quite unusu-
reactions. Moreover, it is usually admin- to other par ts of the body showed al, patients can expect good results,
istered by slow intravenous infusion, the capecitabine-based therapy with capecitabine effectively slowing
over several treatment cycles. (XELOX) was as effective as FOLFOX. tumor progression.
"Capecitabine is a good alternative to
According to Dr. Wai Man Sze, a infusion chemotherapy," says Dr. Sze.
Specialist in Clinical Oncology, home "New cancer guidelines from the USA ”Every patient who needs
infusion is an option, but most patients Na tional Comprehensive Cancer 5-FU chemotherapy
in Hong Kong are too worried about Network (NCCN) now recommend
accidents and prefer to receive capecitabine for all patients who can- should consider using
chemotherapy in the hospital. not tolerate intensive chemotherapy." capecitabine”
"Such frequent hospitalization – for Capecitabine is currently approved for
3 days every 2 weeks – disrupts the the treatment of metastatic colorectal "Most importantly, patients are very sat-
normal routine and seriously compro- cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer isfied with capecitabine, as they don’t
mises patients’ quality of life," he says. and nasopharyngeal cancer. "It is also need to spend time in the hospital to
being evaluated in pancreatic and receive the chemotherapy. The oral
Capecitabine: A convenient option biliary cancers, in combination with treatment is so much more convenient,
For tuna tely, pa tients who need other agents," pointed out Dr. Sze. significantly improving patient quality
chemotherapy can now use of life," says Dr. Sze. "Every patient Dr. Wai-Man Sze,
capecitabine therapy. Capecitabine is Capecitabine can be used as a single who needs 5-FU chemotherapy should Clinical Oncology Specialist
an oral chemotherapy agent tha t therapy or in combination with other consider using capecitabine."
is taken twice daily for 2 weeks on, chemotherapies or targeted cancer
1 week off. drugs. He notes tha t side ef fects of
capecitabine therapy are quite similar
Capecitabine is an oral for m of Favorable clinical results to conventional chemotherapy, although
5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a chemotherapy Dr. Sze has used capecitabine to treat somewhat milder.
agent used in many common more than 100 patients with different
chemotherapy regimens, such as types of cancer. "In my clinical experi- "The most common is hand-foot syn-
FOLFOX and FOLFIRI. ence, capecitabine therapy is as effica- drome, where the skin of palms and
cious as 5-FU chemotherapy regimens, soles becomes red and dry, and starts
"When taken by mouth, capecitabine is sometimes even better," he notes. peeling of f," he explains. "I advise
absorbed in the digestive system and patients to use plenty of moisturizer;
then converted in the tumor cells to the One of his most successful cases was sometimes we may need to adjust the
active form, 5-FU. The active drug is a patient with metastatic colorectal drug dose."
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