Hand Foot Syndrome - New Treatment

[Half-Full]

This might be old news for some but I did a search and couldn’t find any posts discussing it. A recent study was just completed that showed that a common OTC medication is extremely effective for hand foot syndrome caused by Capacetibine (Xeloda).

Voltarin (active ingredient diclofenac) reduced the incidence of HFS by over 75%. It’s being reported as “practice changing” and Voltarin is readily available OTC.

This news is a bit late for us as my wife has had to move on from Xeloda but I thought this might help some of you.

[Nocillo]

Good to know. I’ve used it in the past for aches.

[Breege_M]

Thank you so much for that information. I am due to start Xeloda and the HFS is a real worry for me.

This forum is a great resource.

[Half-Full]

I hope it helps. Here’s a link to the article:

medscape.com/viewarticle/99...

[TammyCross in reply to Half-Full]

I came on here to post an article on this great treatment for hand-foot from MDEdge, also reporting on the presentation at ASCO. I will see if there is a sentence or two that elaborates.

"Up until now, the oral anti-inflammatory celecoxib (Celebrex) was the only agent proven to prevent the problem, but it’s rarely used because of the risk for strokes, gastric bleeding, and other issues, none of which are a concern with topical diclofenac, which osteoarthritis patients have used safely for years.

The Indian trial, dubbed D-Torch, establishes “1% topical diclofenac gel as the new standard of care to prevent capecitabine-associated hand-foot syndrome,” said investigator and study presenter Atul Batra, MD, a medical oncologist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Diclofenac gel is sold under the brand name Votaren and is also available as a generic; in the United States, a 150-gram tube costs about $18 at Walmart."

$18 at Walmart! Didn't realize Celebrex posed such risks, and hadn't thought about topical being better than a pill because it is more localized.

[love2golfwell]

Thank you so much for sharing this information.

[Aquamoron]

thank you so much for this! I was able to locate a generic formulation of this at drugstore. Due to liver lesions I’m hesitant to take Tylenol or ibuprophen tablets as my liver is working hard enough as it is. I’m not on xeloda, but I do have aches and pains and it’s great to find something that works to add to my tool kit.

[13plus]

Gee thank you so much for sharing this news! I’m on something else right now but if it doesn’t work my doc had said next would most likely be Xeloda , which I’ve been dreading due to the HFS. I teach fitness so it would be the end of my teaching if I ever suffer from it! Just hearing this news is music to my ears

[PJBinMI]

Gel or oral tablets? Were you able to buy it without a prescription? Brand? I'm having trouble finding the tablets on line.