Paralytic ileus is a recognised side effect of the oral agent capecitabine. We present this report on a patient with metastatic colorectal cancer who was treated with capecitabine and presented with persistent paralytic ileus which did not respond to standard conservative measures. Neostigmine was administered safely, resulting in resolution of the paralytic ileus. This approach merits further investigation.
WalkoC.M., LindleyC.: Capecitabine: a review. Clin Ther, 27: 23–44, 2005.
2.
KoukourakisG.V., KoulouliasV., KoukourakisM.J., ZachariasG.A., ZabatisH., KouvarisJ.: Efficacy of the oral fluorouracil pro-drug capecitabine in cancer treatment: a review. Molecules, 13: 1897–1922, 2008.
3.
LaudadioL., BiondiE., D'OstilioN., CestaA., Di GiandomenicoF., ForcinitiS., NuzzoA.: Paralytic ileus associated with capecitabine. Tumori, 94: 742–745, 2008.
4.
Martinez VillacampaM., SantosC., GarcíaM., NavarroV., TeuleA., LosaF., PisaA., LemaL., BiondoS., SalazarR.: Phase II study of preoperative bevacizumab, capecitabine, and radiotherapy for resectable locally advanced rectal cancer. J Clin Oncol, 29(suppl 4): abstr 516, 2011.
5.
ChanS., RomieuG., HuoberJ., DelozierT., Tubiana-HulinM., SchneeweissA., LluchA., LlombartA., du BoisA., KreienbergR., MayordomoJ.I., AntonA., HarrisonM., JonesA., CarrascoE., VauryA.T., Frimodt-MollerB., FumoleauP.: Phase III study of gemcitabine plus docetaxel compared with capecitabine plus docetaxel for anthracycline-pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer. J Clin Oncol, 27: 1753–1760, 2009.
6.
CameronD., CaseyM., PressM., LindquistD., PienkowskiT., RomieuC.G., ChanS., Jagiello-GruszfeldA., KaufmanB., CrownJ., ChanA., CamponeM., ViensP., DavidsonN., GorbounovaV., RaatsJ.I., SkarlosD., NewstatB., RoychowdhuryD., PaolettiP., OlivaC., RubinS., SteinS., GeyerC.E.: A phase III randomized comparison of lapatinib plus capecitabine versus capecitabine alone in women with advanced breast cancer that has progressed on trastuzumab: updated efficacy and biomarker analyses. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 112: 533–543, 2008.
