5-FU–related toxicity is a serious and common issue for many cancer patients. As many as 1 in 3 patients receiving 5-FU–related therapy experiences dose-limiting toxicity1 that is largely avoidable.
Variations in 2 genes, called DPYD and TYMS, are responsible for a significant portion of serious adverse reactions to 5-FU–based therapy.1-4 One in 4 individuals carries variations in either of these genes that will confer up to a 60% risk of toxicity to 5-FU-related therapies.
5-FU complications
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5-FU–related toxicity can lead to severe complications that may impact patient care and quality of life, including:
- Neutropenia
- Diarrhea
- Hand-foot syndrome
- Stomatitis
- Mucositis
- Myelosuppression
References: 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. 2. Lecomte T, Ferraz J-M, Zinzindohoué F, et al. Thymidylate synthase gene polymorphism predicts toxicity in colorectal cancer patients receiving 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2004;10:5880-5888. 3. Pullarkat ST, Stoehlmacher J, Ghaderi V, et al. Thymidylate synthase gene polymorphism determines response and toxicity of 5-FU chemotherapy. Pharmacogenomics J. 2001;1:65-70. 4. Ichikawa W, Takahashi T, Suto K, et al. Orotate phosphoribosyltransferase gene polymorphism predicts toxicity in patients treated with bolus 5-fluorouracil regimen. Clin Cancer Res. 2006;12:3928-3934. 5. Schwab M, et al. Role of genetic and non-genetic factors for fluorouracil treatment related severe toxicity; a prospective clinical trial by the German 5-FU toxicity study group. J Clin Oncol, 2008.
