| Abstrakt: |
With the development of newer anticancer drugs, such as the fluoropyrimidines, and more effective usage of older drugs alone or in combination, many cancer patients receive repeated courses of therapy with chemotherapeutic compounds for long periods.1 Acute organ toxicity is generally well studied, but less attention has been given to long-term, cumulative organ toxicity.In the course of treating a large number of patients who have neoplastic disease, several observations led us to investigate the effect of prolonged treatment with fluoropyrimidines on thyroid function. Many patients complained of constipation between courses of therapy, while in others, skin and subcutaneous changes developed which resembled myxedema. PROCEDURE We surveyed 13 of our longest-term patients to determine whether hypothyroidism is a significant side effect of prolonged fluoropyrimidine therapy.2 Ten patients were studied who had received at least 21 courses (27 months or more) of fluorouracil.1 Three patients treated with floxuridine |
