Guidance on the use of capecitabine and tegafur with uracil for metastatic colorectal cancer

Oral therapy with capecitabine is recommended as an option for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

The choice of regimen (intravenous fluorouracil/folinic acid [5-FU/FA] or capecitabine) should be made jointly by the individual and the clinician(s) responsible for treatment. The decision should be made after an informed discussion between the clinician(s) and the patient; this discussion should take into account contraindications and the side-effect profile of the agents as well as the clinical condition and preferences of the individual.

The use of capecitabine to treat metastatic colorectal cancer should be supervised by oncologists who specialise in colorectal cancer.