Roche's Xeloda Has Fewer Side Effects

Roche's oral Xeloda (capecitabine; 5-fluorouracil prodrug) produced anequivalent response to standard injectable chemotherapy but with a lower incidence of side effects such as alopecia and myelosuppression, according to data presented on November 6 at the European Society of Medical Oncology in Athens, Greece.

Capecitabine is converted into the effective antitumor agent 5-fluorouracil, but only by chemicals within the tumor, thus achieving a unique site-specific action and minimizing the toxicity associated with the drug. In women with advanced breast cancer treated with the tumoractivated agent, no alopecia was reported and myelosuppression was uncommon. Another study found it to be effective in women unresponsive to standard paclitaxel therapy.

Xeloda is currently available in the USA, Canada and Switzerland (Marketletters passim) for second- or third-line treatment for advanced breast cancer and is expected to be approved in the European Union by the middle of next year.