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Same active ingredient — pay up to 8% less
These brands contain the same active ingredient (Capecitabine). Same strength and form. Confirm the switch with your doctor or pharmacist.
Indications & Uses
Capecitin is indicated for:
Pharmacology
Capecitabine is an anticancer medicine taken by mouth. It is used to treat several types of cancer. Once it is in the body, it is changed into fluorouracil, which is an antimetabolite, and it is this drug that slows the growth of tumour tissue by blocking DNA synthesis.
Capecitabine is a prodrug. This means it has little cytotoxic effect until it is converted. The conversion is carried out by thymidine phosphorylase, an enzyme that is found in higher amounts in many tumours than in normal tissue or in the blood plasma. So the active drug is made mostly where the tumour is, which is why the effect is concentrated there.
Fluorouracil is then broken down further, inside both normal and tumour cells, into two active metabolites: 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine 5-monophosphate (FdUMP) and 5-fluorouridine triphosphate (FUTP). They damage cells in two different ways.
The first way involves FdUMP. It binds to thymidylate synthase (TS), together with the folate cofactor N5-10 methylenetetrahydrofolate, and forms a covalently bound ternary complex. This stops thymidylate from being made from 2-deoxyuridylate. Thymidylate is needed to make thymidine triphosphate, which DNA cannot be built without, so when it runs short, cell division is blocked.
The second way involves FUTP. During the making of RNA, enzymes in the cell nucleus can take FUTP by mistake in place of uridine triphosphate (UTP). This faulty RNA disrupts RNA processing and protein synthesis.
Dosage Reference
Reference Information Only
Dosages shown are general references from official sources. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized dosing.
Adults:
Monotherapy: 1250 mg/m2 taken by mouth twice daily for 2 weeks, followed by a one-week rest period, in 3-week cycles.
Adjuvant treatment: Recommended for a total of 6 months (8 cycles).
In combination with docetaxel: The recommended dose of Capecitabine is 1250 mg/m2 twice daily for 2 weeks, followed by a 7-day rest period, combined with docetaxel at 75 mg/m2 given as a 1-hour IV infusion every 3 weeks.
The Capecitabine dose may need to be individualised to optimise patient management. In patients with moderate renal impairment, the Capecitabine dose must be reduced by 25%.
Example: A person weighing 64 kg with a height of 1.64 m has a body surface area of 1.7 m2 and should take 4 tablets of 500 mg and 1 tablet of 150 mg two times daily.
The tablets should be taken in the morning and evening as prescribed by the doctor. They should be taken within 30 minutes after the end of a meal (breakfast and dinner) and swallowed whole with water. The tablets should not be cut or crushed. Capecitabine should only be prescribed by a doctor experienced in the use of anticancer medicines.
Side Effects
Abdominal pain, rash, dry or itchy skin, tiredness, loss of appetite (anorexia), diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomatitis, hand-and-foot skin reaction, fever, infection, chest pain, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Cautions & Contraindications
Warnings & Precautions
Coagulopathy: Anticoagulant response should be monitored (e.g. INR) and the anticoagulant dose adjusted accordingly. Otherwise, bleeding or death may result. Diarrhea: Caparen treatment should be stopped immediately until diarrhea resolves or decreases to grade 1. Standard antidiarrheal treatments are recommended. Otherwise, it may become severe. Cardiotoxicity: Common in patients with a prior history of coronary artery disease. Increased risk of severe or fatal adverse reactions in patients with low or absent dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) activity: Caparen should be withheld or permanently discontinued in patients with evidence of acute early-onset or unusually severe toxicity, which may indicate near complete or total absence of DPD activity. Dehydration and renal failure: Caparen treatment should be stopped until dehydration is corrected. There is a potential risk of acute renal failure secondary to dehydration. Mucocutaneous and dermatologic toxicity: Severe mucocutaneous reactions, Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), have been reported. Caparen should be permanently discontinued in patients who experience a severe mucocutaneous reaction during treatment. Caparen may induce hand-and-foot syndrome. Caparen treatment should be interrupted until the hand-and-foot syndrome event resolves or decreases in intensity. Hyperbilirubinemia: Caparen treatment should be interrupted immediately until the hyperbilirubinemia resolves or decreases in intensity. Hematologic: Patients should not be treated with neutrophil counts <1.5x109/L or thrombocyte counts <100x109/L.
Contraindications
Severe renal impairment; hypersensitivity; leucopenia, neutropenia or thrombocytopenia; severe reactions to fluoropyrimidine therapy; complete DPD deficiency; pregnant or breast-feeding.
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Pregnancy category D. Capecitabine can harm an unborn baby, so women should be made aware of this risk to the fetus. It is not known whether Capecitabine passes into human breast milk, and no studies have looked at its effect on milk production or its presence in breast milk. Because the risk to a nursing infant is unknown, breastfeeding should be stopped during treatment with Capecitabine and for 2 weeks after the last dose.
⚠️ Talk to your doctor before taking any medicine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Overdose
If someone takes too much capecitabine in one go, the signs can include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Mucositis can also develop, along with irritation of the gut and bleeding from it, and bone marrow depression.
Treatment of an overdose follows the usual therapeutic and supportive care. The aim is to correct the signs the person is showing and to prevent the complications that could follow from them.
⚠️ In an emergency call 999 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.
Storage
Store Capecitabine in a dry place, below 30°C, and away from light. Keep it out of the reach of children.
Drug Interactions
Common questions about Capecitin 500 mg
What is Capecitin 500 mg Tablet?
Capecitin 500 mg Tablet is a medicine that contains Capecitabine. It is made by Aristopharma Limited. It belongs to the Cytotoxic Chemotherapy group of medicines.
What is Capecitin used for?
Capecitin is used for: Cancer.
What are the side effects of Capecitin?
Abdominal pain, rash, dry or itchy skin, tiredness, loss of appetite (anorexia), diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomatitis, hand-and-foot skin reaction, fever, infection, chest pain, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Can I take Capecitin during pregnancy or while breastfeeding?
Pregnancy category D. Capecitabine can harm an unborn baby, so women should be made aware of this risk to the fetus. Talk to your doctor before taking any medicine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
What happens if I take too much Capecitin?
If someone takes too much capecitabine in one go, the signs can include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Mucositis can also develop, along with irritation of the gut and bleeding from it, and bone marrow depression. In an emergency call 999 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.
How should I store Capecitin?
Store Capecitabine in a dry place, below 30°C, and away from light. Keep it out of the reach of children.
Can I take other medicines with Capecitin?
Some medicines can interact with Capecitabine, for example: Phenytoin Sodium, Fluorouracil, Phenytoin. Tell your doctor or pharmacist about every medicine you take.
Is there a cheaper medicine with the same ingredient?
Cabita by Drug International Unani Ltd. has the same ingredient and strength for ৳110.00 per unit, compared with ৳120.00 for Capecitin. Ask your doctor or pharmacist before switching.
Do I need a prescription for Capecitin?
Capecitin is a prescription (Rx) medicine. Take it as your doctor advises.