Article

Cardiotoxicity and Capecitabine: A Case Report

Marybeth Singer

prodrugs, capecitabine, myocardial ischemia
CJON 2003, 7(1), 72-75. DOI: 10.1188/03.CJON.72-75

Oral fluoropyrimidines increasingly are being developed and studied as a novel treatment for breast, colorectal, and other cancers. Fluoropyrimidines are designed to generate 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) preferentially within tumors. Cardiotoxicity is a rare complication associated with 5-FU and oral fluoropyrimidine treatments. Chest pain is the most common presenting symptom, and, in many cases, the cardiotoxicity is partly or completely reversible. This article reviews fluoropyrimidine-induced cardiotoxicity and presents a case report of a woman who experienced this complication during capecitabine treatment.

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