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Edward S. Greenwald, MD
New Rochelle, NY

JAMA. 1975;232(11):1126-1127.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

For the past seven years I have been using fluorouracil to treat patients with metastatic cancer. In the last four years, I have given up the use of loading doses and administered 15 mg/kg intravenously weekly to almost all patients. Although I have not kept precise records of all side effects, I have noted that many patients complain of dry skin and mild nosebleeds in the absence of thrombocytopenia. To my surprise, I recently learned that neither of these side effects has been reported to Roche Laboratories, the distributor of fluorouracil.

I then reviewed my records of all patients recently receiving fluorouracil alone without other chemotherapeutic agents, and was able to find seven who complained of moderate to severe dryness of the skin, most marked on the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet. In four of these patients, the dryness was severe and . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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