Xeloda, capecitabine, uses, side effects, warnings and treatments

Xeloda (capecitabine)
Potential health benefits on cancers and research finds 2007

Recently,researchers reported the promising results of
their studies of Xeloda on cancers.

Xeloda works good with Tykerb
Dr. Charles E. Geyer and other researchers at Allegheny
General Hospital, Pittsburg, concluded that Tykerb®
(lapatinib) plus Xeloda® (capecitabine) was superior to
capecitabine alone in women with HER2 (ErbB2) positive
advanced breast cancer who had progressed following prior
therapy, including Herceptin® (trastuzumab) in a Phase III
study of women with HER2-positive, locally advanced or
metastatic breast cancer.

The study also showed that the combination-therapy was
not associated with higher incidence in either serious toxicity
or rates of discontinuation related to adverse side effects,
compared to capecitabine treatment alone. The most
common side effects were diarrhea, hand-foot syndrome and
rash distinct from hand-foot syndrome. [5]

Avastin combined with Herceptin or Xeloda showed
promising results

A Phase II study, which investigated the first-line treatment
of HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, showed that more
than half of the patients showed a complete or partial
response to treatment of a combination of Herceptin and
Avastin. In addition, the study also showed that the safety
profile of this drug combo was acceptable and lacked the
typical chemotherapy-related side effects.

This combination fights the tumor by blocking the HER2
protein that gives the cancer instructions to grow and by
starving the cancer of its blood supply. This combination
caused tumors to shrink in more than half of the 37 patients
participating in the study. [3]

An interim analysis suggested that a combination of Avastin
and Xeloda might offer clinical benefits to metastatic breast
cancer patients with no prior treatment history, boosting
hopes Avastin could gain U.S. approval for treating the
disease.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
About 212,920 women in the United States will be found to
have invasive breast cancer in 2006 and about 40,970
women will die from the disease this year. [2]

Both Avastin and Herceptin were developed jointly with
Genentech Inc. and Roche. [3]

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR REFERENCE ONLY. CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR FOR
MEDICAL ADVICE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ZHION 2007.

UPDATE 1-Roche 2-drug combo treats breast cancer in trial Reuters Mon Dec
18, 2006 [2] Xeloda(R) Plus Avastin(R) Combination May Produce Clinical
Benefit in Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer PRNewswise December 18,
2006 - 5:07 AM [3] Roche drug combo shows promise in breast cancer DOW
JONES NEWSWIRES December 18, 2006 [4] Xeloda(R) Plus Avastin(R)
Combination May Produce Clinical Benefit In Patients With Advanced Breast
Cancer Medical News Today 16 Dec 2006 [5] Lapatinib plus Capecitabine for
HER2-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM) Volume 355:2733-2743 December 28, 2006 Number 26

Xeloda (capecitabine)is the only FDA-approved oral chemotherapy
for both metastatic breast cancer and adjuvant and metastatic
colorectal cancer. Xeloda is transformed by thymidine
phosphorylase to 5-FU, a cytotoxic (cell-killing) drug in the body.
Because many cancers have higher levels of TP than does normal
tissue, more 5-FU is delivered to the tumor than to other tissue. [4]