Metastatic Breast Cancer: Focus on Capecitabine

Abstract

Capecitabine is an oral 5-fluorouracil pro-drug with activity in metastatic breast cancer. As a single agent, response rates of 30%-30% and 15%-30% have been reported in first-line and more heavily pretreated populations, respectively. Capecitabine in combination with chemotherapy and biologic agents has resulted in significant improvement in the clinical endpoints of overall survival, response rates, and time to progression. Capecitabine has unique toxicities, which are manageable with proper dosing, vigilance, patient education and incorporation of dose interruptions and supportive care measures. This review will critically discuss the data on the efficacy of capecitabine in metastatic breast cancer.