Uftoral

Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

- Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain
- Weakness or loss of strength (asthenia)
- Sore mouth or throat
- Decreased numbers of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets in the blood
- Increased susceptibility to infections such as thrush
- Hair loss (alopecia)
- Skin reactions such as rash, dry skin and itching
- Watery and sore eyes
- Alteration in taste
- Loss of appetite
- Headache
- Dehydration
- Sleepiness
- Dizziness
- Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
- Depression
- Confusion
- Pins and needles sensations
- Swelling of the legs and ankles due to excess fluid retention (peripheral oedema)
- Shortness of breath (dyspnoea)
- Pain in the muscles and joints
- Impotence
- Liver, kidney or heart disorders

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer. For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.

How can this medicine affect other medicines?

It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before you start treatment with this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines during treatment this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.

Chemotherapy decreases the body's immune response. This means that vaccines may be less effective if given during treatment, and live vaccines may cause serious infections. Live vaccines include: measles, mumps, rubella, MMR, oral polio, oral typhoid and yellow fever. If live vaccines are needed they should be postponed until at least six months after finishing chemotherapy.

Interactions between this medicine with other medicines have not been formally studied. However, until more experience is gained, the following medicines should be used with caution in combination with this medicine:

- methoxypsoralen
- clotrimazole
- ketoconazole
- miconazole.

The following medicines may increase the blood level of 5-FU and could increase the risk of side effects of this medicine:

- cimetidine
- metronidazole.

This medicine may increase the blood level of the antiepileptic medicine phenytoin. If you are taking phenytoin with this medicine your blood level of phenytoin should be regularly monitored. Your doctor may need to reduce your phenytoin dose if your phenytoin level rises too high.

This medicine may increase the anti-blood-clotting effect of anticoagulant medicines such as warfarin. As this could increase the risk of bleeding, people taking anticoagulants in combination with this medicine should have their blood clotting times (prothrombin time or INR) regularly monitored.

This medicine should not be used with medicines that inhibit the breakdown of 5-FU. 5-FU breakdown is carried out by a compound called dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). Medicines that inhibit DPD include uracil and eniluracil. The uracil that is part of this medicine is at the right level to give an increased anti-cancer effect of 5-FU, without excessively increasing side effects. However, if more uracil, or any other inhibitors of DPD are added, the amount of 5-FU which is then not broken down in the body may cause toxicity. For this reason, medicines that inhibit DPD should be avoided. Your doctor or pharmacist will know.

Other medicines containing the same active ingredients

There are currently no other medicines available in the UK that contain tegafur and uracil as the active ingredients.

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