Capcita 500mg Tablets

Doctors prescribe it as monotherapy or combined with other chemotherapy agents, taken with food.

Capcita 500mg Tablet Ingredients and Usage

Capcita 500mg Tablet contains capecitabine, a fluoropyrimidine carbamate belonging to the antimetabolite anticancer drug class. Doctors prescribe it as adjuvant treatment for colon cancer after surgery and as first line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Capcita 500mg Tablet also treats metastatic breast cancer, often combined with docetaxel, and advanced gastric, esophageal, or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Dosing follows a cycle of twice daily tablets for 14 days, followed by a 7 day break, taken within 30 minutes after a meal.

How Does Capcita 500mg Tablet Work?

Capecitabine is an inactive prodrug that undergoes a three-step enzymatic conversion, mostly occurring within tumor tissue, into 5-fluorouracil, its active form. This targeted activation concentrates the chemotherapy effect inside cancer cells.

5-fluorouracil inhibits thymidylate synthase, an enzyme cancer cells need to synthesize DNA. By blocking this enzyme, Capcita 500mg Tablet disrupts DNA and RNA synthesis, stopping cancer cell division and triggering cell death.

Capcita 500mg Tablet Side Effects

Capcita 500mg Tablet commonly causes digestive and skin related side effects. Hand-foot syndrome is a hallmark reaction that often requires dose adjustment.

• Hand-foot syndrome, with redness, swelling, or peeling on palms and soles

• Diarrhea

• Nausea and vomiting

• Mouth sores

• Fatigue

• Loss of appetite

• Low blood cell counts

Warnings

• Capcita 500mg Tablet carries a boxed warning for patients with complete dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency, since no dose has been proven safe in this group; DPYD genetic testing before starting treatment is strongly recommended.

• The medicine also carries a boxed warning for its interaction with warfarin and other coumarin anticoagulants; combining them can cause dangerous bleeding, and INR must be monitored closely and frequently.

• Severe diarrhea can occur and may require fluid replacement and dose interruption; contact a doctor promptly for diarrhea occurring more than four times a day or overnight.

• Capcita 500mg Tablet can cause cardiotoxicity, including angina, arrhythmia, and heart attack, particularly in patients with existing heart disease.

• Rare but serious skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, have been reported and can be fatal.

• Capcita 500mg Tablet is contraindicated in pregnancy and severe kidney disease; effective contraception is required during treatment.

• Swallow tablets whole; avoid crushing them, and wash hands thoroughly if accidental contact with a broken tablet occurs.

Capcita 500mg Tablet Storage Conditions

Store Capcita 500mg Tablet at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, heat, and moisture. Keep tablets in their original packaging until the dose is due. Store this medicine out of reach of children and dispose of any expired or unused tablets according to local guidelines for cytotoxic agents.