Before patients with cancer begin treatment with intravenous fluorouracil and related drugs, they should be tested for lack of the enzyme dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), says an EU panel.

Some cancer patients react very badly to commonly used chemotherapies — but there is a test that can identify those patients. So why isn't this test being used? This is the question currently being ...

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Complete DPD deficiency markedly impairs 5-FU catabolism, increasing risk of early severe diarrhea, mucositis, neutropenia, neurologic toxicity, and death. The U.S. FDA has issued an updated safety ...

Reply to: “Give Patients the Choice to Test for DPD Deficiency Before Fluoropyrimidine Chemotherapy,” “Large-Scale DPD Testing Should Be More Than an Option,” and “A Big Problem With a Feasible ...

Dr. Gabriel A. Brooks discusses what DPD deficiency is and why it is important for patients with cancer receiving 5-FU or Xeloda to be aware of it. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated ...

The FDA updated its safety labeling for capecitabine and 5-FU to reflect that patients with certain genetic variants risk severe or fatal toxicities. The FDA updated the product labeling for ...