In the article, we consider the instructions for use and reviews for the Xeloda medication.
The drug is a cytostatic drug. It contains capecitabine, namely a medicinal substance, which is a derivative of fluoropyrimidine carbamate. This component does not differ in cytostatic activity, but in the tumor tissue, as part of its interaction with the antigenic factor, it can turn into active fluorouracil. Thus, the medication has a cytostatic selective effect only on the tumor tissue, while the effect on healthy tissues is minimal. According to reviews, Xeloda is very effective.
Release form
This drug is released in film-coated tablets. They have a light peach color. The main component of the drug is capecitabine. Excipients are lactose along with cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, hypromellose and magnesium stearate. The composition of the shell is prepared from talc, titanium dioxide and yellow iron oxide. Each pack contains ten tablets.
According to reviews, Xeloda 500 mg is well tolerated.
Indications
In the presence of breast cancer, this remedy is prescribed for the following purposes:
- As part of combination therapy with Docetaxel in case of local advanced or metastatic breast cancer, and in addition, against the background of the ineffectiveness of chemotherapy, including anthracycline drugs.
- For monotherapy of common and metastatic oncology of the mammary gland, resistant to chemotherapy with taxanes or anthracycline drugs, as well as if there are contraindications to them.
Against the background of colorectal cancer, this remedy is used in the following cases:
- As part of the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer of the third stage after surgical therapy.
- In the treatment of colorectal metastatic cancer.
Use the tool and with cancer of the stomach. Feedback on the use of Xeloda is mostly positive.
Contraindications
This medication is prohibited in the following cases:
- In the presence of an established deficiency of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, as well as for other fluoropyrimidines.
- As part of the simultaneous administration of Sorivudine and its analogues like Brivudin.
- With severe kidney failure.
- Against the background of the initial content of neutrophils or platelets.
- In case of contraindications to one of the medications of the combined treatment.
- During pregnancy, during periods of feeding, and to children, since the effectiveness and safety of this medicine for this category of patients has not been established.
- Against the background of hypersensitivity to capecitabine or other components of the drug.
- With sensitivity to "Fluorouracil".
- Against the background of recorded cases of the development of severe adverse reactions to therapy with derivatives of “Fluoropyrimidine”.
When is the drug taken with caution?
With caution, this drug should be prescribed for heart pathologies, against the background of kidney or liver failure, and in addition, as part of the simultaneous use of the coumarin group with anticoagulants. This medicine is also prescribed with caution in the presence of a hereditary lactase deficiency. It is also worth refraining from it if there is lactose intolerance, galactose malabsorption, or if the patient is over sixty years old.
With reviews on the treatment of "Xeloda" with capecitabine 500 mg, it is better to familiarize yourself in advance.
Instruction manual
The drug in question is taken orally and washed down with water no later than half an hour after eating. With colorectal colon cancer, 1250 milligrams are prescribed twice, in the mornings and evenings, for fourteen days with a seven-day break.
According to reviews, Xeloda 500 mg is a very effective drug if used correctly.
For breast cancer, the medication is prescribed at 1250 milligrams twice for fourteen days in combination with Docetaxel, which is taken in a dosage of 75 milligrams once as an infusion.
In the treatment of gastric cancer as part of a combination treatment, the dose of Xeloda should be necessarily reduced to 800 milligrams twice in two weeks with a further seven-day break. The medicine can be taken at 625 milligrams continuously. Adding immunobiological drugs to the combined treatment does not affect the dosage of Xeloda.
Antiemetics in order to ensure adequate hydration are prescribed immediately before the introduction of "Cisplatin" and "Oxaliplatin" according to the instructions. In adjuvant treatment of colon cancer of the third stage, the recommended duration of Xeloda therapy is six months, that is, eight courses.
The combination of "Xeloda" with "Cisplatin"
With this combination, 1000 mg of Xeloda is prescribed twice for fourteen days, followed by a break. “Cisplatin” is used at a time of 80 milligrams once. The first infusion is prescribed on the first day of the cycle. The last dose is prescribed in the morning on the fifteenth day.
Patient reviews about Xeloda are presented at the end of the article.
Combination with Oxaliplatin
As part of this combination, Xeloda is prescribed 1000 milligrams twice over fourteen days with a seven-day break. The initial dose of the drug is prescribed on the first day of the cycle in the evening, and the last - in the morning on the fifteenth day. The medicine "Oxaliplatin" is administered at a dose of 130 milligrams intravenously.
Overdose
According to patients' reviews of Xeloda, the symptoms of an acute overdose of a medicine usually include nausea along with diarrhea, irritation of the digestive system, vomiting, bleeding, mucositis, inhibition of bone marrow functions, and so on.
Overdose therapy includes a set of supporting therapeutic measures aimed at correcting the clinical manifestation and preventing the occurrence of possible complications.
The use of Xeloda in medicine
Xeloda and other capecitabine-based pharmaceuticals are prescribed for patients who are in hospital. After all, in order for the treatment to be as effective as possible, continuous monitoring of changes in the patient's condition is necessary. Such a process can be carried out only by a qualified specialist who has sufficient experience in this profile, who will not lose sight of a single trifle.
Cancer is an insidious disease that does not tolerate neglect, or even more delay. Treatment of this pathology should be started in a timely manner, namely immediately after determining this diagnosis. In this case, time is the worst enemy of the patient, because if the education has not yet managed to grow and metastasize, then the therapy process will not be so long, and the chances of complete healing are incredibly high. It is in this regard that it is so important to start treatment on time. Medicines like Xeloda are often prescribed in combination with various drugs. The medicinal substance of the medication in question is very effective in the presence of the following forms of the disease:
- Against the background of breast cancer (with primary foci).
- Against the background of metastatic damage to the mammary glands in the case of advanced forms of cancer.
- In the presence of colorectal cancer in the initial or subsequent stages, and in addition, immediately after the timely elimination of the tumor focus.
- In the presence of lesions of the stomach and esophagus.
It is noteworthy that in the presence of cancer affecting the mammary glands, the Xeloda preparation is prescribed as monotherapy, as part of the addition to chemotherapy treatment. And also she is appointed as a component of combination therapy. It is worth noting that the use of Xeloda as part of adjuvant treatment and first-line therapy is more preferable.
Side effects
As the reviews about “Xeloda” confirm, the most significant and frequently encountered adverse reactions during the use of the drug are violations of the digestive system. In particular, we are talking about diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, stomatitis, anorexia, fatigue, plantar syndrome, drowsiness, manifestations of cardiotoxicity and thrombosis. In patients with impaired renal function, an increase in the deficiency of this organ is possible.
Reviews about the treatment of “Xeloda” are abundant.
Interaction
The simultaneous use of the drug with anticoagulants from the coumarin group can lead to changes in coagulation and the development of bleeding. With the simultaneous use of "capecitabine" with "phenytoin" may increase the plasma concentration of the latter. In this regard, in patients simultaneously receiving both of these drugs, regular monitoring of the plasma concentration of the drug “Phenytoin” is required.
It is required to avoid the combined use of Xeloda with Allopurinol, since it is possible to decrease the effectiveness of fluorouracil against the background of its interaction with this medication. At the same time, Xeloda is not used with Sorivudine and its structural analogues like Brivudin. There is no information on the interaction of the drug "Xeloda" with alcohol, and therefore it is better not to combine these substances.
special instructions
Regarding the use of this medication, women of reproductive age should be prescribed treatment with Xeloda only if reliable contraception is used. During therapy, patients with moderate and mild impaired liver function, which is associated with metastases in this organ, and elderly people need careful medical supervision. In the event of the development of such a phenomenon as hyperbilirubinemia, the use of Xeloda must be stopped until it completely disappears.
With the simultaneous use of Xeloda medicine with indirect anticoagulants, it is required to regularly monitor the state of the blood coagulation system. Currently, the safety of using this medication in patients with kidney failure has not been established.
The appointment of coumarin anticoagulants is possible no earlier than one month after completion of capecitabine therapy due to the possible presence of hypocoagulation and the occurrence of bleeding. During the Xeloda therapy, it is imperative to be careful while driving and engaging in other potentially hazardous activities that require a significant concentration of attention, and at the same time, speed of psychomotor reactions.
The drug in question is stored at a temperature of up to thirty degrees, and it must be protected from children.
Xeloda: How effective is this medicine?
The effectiveness of the drug "Xeloda" completely depends on a correctly drawn up treatment plan for the patient, and in addition, on the form of oncology and the degree of neglect of the disease. Of course, with the early detection of a patient’s malignancy, it will be much easier to get rid of it, and the patient’s quality of life itself will not suffer after treatment, he will be able to fully return to his favorite activities. Reviews about the treatment with Xeloda 500 mg confirm this.
Therapy of advanced forms of the disease, even with the use of powerful and effective drugs that can dramatically change the situation in the second stage, is likely to be less effective. It will require complex treatment, it is also possible surgical intervention along with chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
In any case, only the attending physician, who does this on the basis of the clinical data obtained during the examination, can decide the advisability of prescribing the Xeloda medicine. This is a completely modern, but at the same time affordable and quite strong drug, which manifests itself in the best way exclusively in combination with other medicines. It is highly effective against the previously described forms of tumor pathologies.
Reviews about "Xelode"
This medication is often prescribed by doctors if patients have any cancer.
In general, reviews of Xeloda with capecitabine are mostly positive.
The main disadvantage is that against the background of the use of the drug, people have a lot of side effects, and in addition, its use involves a long period of treatment. Also, people are unhappy that this medication is expensive (the price of the drug is around fifteen thousand rubles).
Other patients write in the reviews about “Xeloda” that during the use of this medicine they only showed weakness due to side effects. Otherwise, thanks to this tool, I managed to undergo chemotherapy at home.
We reviewed the Xeloda preparation and instructions.