XELODA Glossary

Adriamycin®: Adriamycin is the brand name for a drug called doxorubicin. This drug is a type of antibiotic used specifically to treat cancer. It works by stopping cells from multiplying. This helps keep tumors from growing and cancer cells from spreading throughout the body.
Adjuvant therapy: When a doctor prescribes a different treatment after the first one has been used (for example, when chemotherapy or radiation is used following surgery). The goal is to destroy any cancer cells that were not removed by the surgery.
Anthracycline: Any drug that is the member of a family of chemotherapy drugs that are also antibiotics. These drugs prevent cells from dividing by confusing and interrupting the DNA of the cells. Adriamycin® (doxorubicin) is an anthracycline.
Biopsy: When a doctor removes a small amount of tissue from your body to examine it closely for signs of infection or cancer cells. Biopsies are used to confirm whether or not a person has Breast or Colorectal Cancer.
Capecitabine: The generic name for XELODA. It is pronounced "CAPE-site-ah-bean."
Colonoscopy: A medical procedure where the doctor inserts a flexible tube into the colon through the rectum. This tube has a miniature camera in it to allow the doctor to see the inside of your colon. A colonoscopy allows the doctor to examine your colon for signs of Colorectal Cancer.
Coumadin®: Coumadin is the brand name of a drug called warfarin. This drug is used to reduce how fast and how often blood clots form in your blood.
DPD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase): DPD is a type of enzyme that affects how the body absorbs and processes 5-FU.
Docetaxel: Docetaxel is the generic name of a drug called Taxotere®. This drug interferes with the growth of cancer cells, and it is used to treat Breast Cancer. It may be used in combination with other drugs, including XELODA.
Doxorubicin: Doxorubicin is the generic name of a drug called Adriamycin®. This drug is a type of antibiotic used specifically to treat cancer. It works by stopping cells from multiplying. This helps keep tumors from growing and cancer cells from spreading throughout the body.
Dilantin®: Dilantin is the brand name for a drug called phenytoin. This drug is used to treat seizures in patients with epilepsy. It is sometimes used to treat other conditions as well.
5-fluorouracil (5-FU): 5-FU was one of the first chemotherapy drugs available, and it has been in use for decades. It is used to treat Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, and certain other types as well. 5-FU must be given by intravenous (IV) injection in what is often a long, slow process. It is a very toxic chemical that must be handled carefully.
Gastroenterologist: A doctor who specializes in treating conditions of the stomach and intestines.
Hand-and-Foot Syndrome: This side effect causes pain, swelling or redness of your hands or feet that prevents normal activity. It is also known as Hand-and-Foot or palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia ( PPE). This is a possible side effect of some chemotherapies including XELODA.
Leucovorin: Folinic Acid. Commonly used in combination with other chemotherapies.
Lymph Nodes: Part of a body-wide system that filters fluid from cells. The lymph nodes are glands that make a fluid called lymph. This fluid carries white blood cells throughout the body through a series of connected vessels. Cancer cells can spread through the body by getting into the lymph system. If lymph nodes are found to have cancer cells, this means the cancer has spread beyond the original tumor.
Metastatic: When cancer cells are found in parts of the body that are far from the original tumor, the cancer has metasticized [meh-TAS-tah-sized]. If this has happened, a person is said to have metastatic [meh-tah-STATIC] cancer.
Paclitaxel: Paclitaxel is the generic name for a drug called Taxol®. This drug interferes with the growth of cancer cells to slow their growth and how quickly they spread in the body. Paclitaxel is used in the treatment of Breast Cancer and other cancers.
Palmar-Plantar Erythrodysesthesia (PPE): This side effect causes pain, swelling or redness of your hands or feet that prevents normal activity. It is usually referred to as Hand-Foot Syndrome or Hand-and-Foot Syndrome. This is a possible side effect of some chemotherapies including XELODA.
Pathologist: Doctors or scientists who specialize in pathology and work as a consultant to other doctors. They spend most of their time in a laboratory studying the nature and causes of disease and the changes that result from it. A pathologist studies cancer cells taken in a biopsy, examines them, and sends a report to your doctor with the findings.
Peritoneum: A sac that lines the walls of the inside of your abdomen. Most of your inner organs (and your digestive system) are contained within this sac. In certain types of cancer, the cancer cells can spread to this sac.
Phenytoin: Phenytoin is the generic name for a drug called Dilantin®. This drug is used to treat seizures in patients with epilepsy. It is sometimes used to treat other conditions as well.
Polyp: A small growth of cells that grow on the inner wall of the colon or rectum. These cells are not cancerous at first, but if the polyp is not removed, they can become cancerous.
Radiologist: A medical professional who specializes in using radiation to help diagnose a disease or to treat one.
Stomatitis: A condition where pain, redness, swelling or sores develop in your mouth.
Taxol®: Taxol is the brand name of a drug called paclitaxel. This drug interferes with the growth of cancer cells to slow their growth and how quickly they spread in the body. Taxol is used in the treatment of Breast Cancer and other cancers.
Taxotere® (docetaxel): Taxotere is the brand name of a drug called docetaxel. This drug interferes with the growth of cancer cells, and it is used to treat Breast Cancer. It may be used in combination with other drugs including XELODA.
Thymidine Phosphorylase (TP): TP is an enzyme that plays a part in helping cells to multiply. Research shows that tumors and other cancer cells produce more TP than healthy cells do. XELODA is thought to work by going to the sites where there is more TP and concentrating its anti-cancer effects there.
Warfarin: Warfarin is the generic name for a drug called Coumadin®. This drug is used to reduce how fast and how often blood clots form in your blood.
XELODA: XELODA is an oral chemotherapy used to treat cancer of the colon after surgery, metastatic Breast and metastatic Colorectal Cancer. XELODA changes to 5-FU in the tissues.

Adriamycin® is a registered trademark of Pharmacia Company.
Coumadin® is a registered trademark of DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company.
Dilantin® is a registered trademark of Parke Davis Company.
Taxol® is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Taxotere® is a registered trademark of Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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