capecitabine

A drug used to treat stage III colorectal cancer that was removed by surgery and colorectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. It is also used to treat breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and has not gotten better after treatment with other anticancer drugs. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Capecitabine is taken up by cancer cells and breaks down into 5-fluorouracil, a substance that kills cancer cells. Capecitabine is a type of antimetabolite. Also called Xeloda.