Klin Onkol 2015; 28(5): 370-372. DOI: 10.14735/amko2015370.
Summary
Background:
Capecitabine is an oral antineoplastic agent classified as a pyrimidin analogue. It is widely used in different types of cancers. Unfortunately, it does not come without a cost, as the drug may have adverse effects – largely diarrhea, but also hand- foot syndrome and loss of fingerprints in extreme cases.
Case: We report a case of a 47-year-old male, which had been diagnosed with metastatic rectal cancer and received capecitabine, developing a severe hand foot syndrome which led him to lose his fingerprints in spite of complete resolution of the syndrome after stoppage of the drug.
Conclusion: This case highlights a rare condition that, even though not precisely a disease per se, may hinder patient‘s quality of life and must be recognised by the treating physician as an treatment related side effect.
