Capecitabine: a new adjuvant option for colorectal cancer.
Colorectal cancer continues to pose a major public health threat in the United States. Without postsurgical adjuvant therapy, approximately 50% of patients will have recurrent disease and die within five years. Since 1990, five new chemotherapy agents have been added to the therapeutic armamentarium for management of colorectal cancer, and agents traditionally used to treat metastatic and advanced disease increasingly are being applied in the adjuvant setting. One such treatment, capecitabine, offers patients the benefit of oral dosing and permits at-home self-management. A phase III randomized trial, Xeloda in Adjuvant Colorectal Cancer Treatment, demonstrated that treatment with single-agent capecitabine was equivalent to bolus 5-fluorouracil with leucovorin with respect to disease-free survival and overall survival, with significantly less diarrhea, stomatitis, neutropenia, nausea and vomiting, and alopecia. This article reviews the findings and discusses how oncology nurses can help provide effective education and monitoring for patients using oral treatment in the adjuvant setting.
Berg
Deborah T
DT
Genentech BioOncology, Derry, NH, USA. deborah.berg@comcast.net
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000069287:Capecitabine; D002423:Cause of Death; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008019:Life Style; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009325:Nausea / Q000139:chemically induced; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000139:chemically induced; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014839:Vomiting / Q000139:chemically induced
D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000069287:Capecitabine; D005472:Fluorouracil