As many as 1 in 3 patients receiving 5-FU–related therapy experience dose-limiting toxicity.1
5-FU complications
- 5-FU–related toxicity can lead to severe complications that may impact patient care and quality of life, including:
- Neutropenia (decrease in white blood cells, which can lead to infections)
- Diarrhea (frequent and profuse discharge of loose or fluid evacuations from the intestines, which can result in dehydration and nutritional deficiencies)
- Hand-foot syndrome (pain, swelling, or redness of the hands or feet that prevents normal activity)
- Stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth)
- Myelosuppression (suppression of bone marrow activity, resulting in reduction in the number of platelets, red cells, and white cells found in the circulation)
Implications of toxicity
- Although toxicity is often manageable, it can result in the following, which may affect treatment efficacy, time, and cost:
- Dose reductions
- Delays in treatment
- Changes or discontinuation of chemotherapy
- Interventions to address harmful side effects
- Hospitalization
Reference: 1. Morel A, Boisdron-Celle M, Fey L, et al. Clinical relevance of different dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase gene single nucleotide polymorphisms on 5-fluorouracil tolerance. Mol Cancer Ther. 2006;5:2895-2904.
