capecitabine 150mg and 500mg tablets (Xeloda)

Following a full submission

capecitabine (Xeloda®) is accepted for use within NHS Scotland for first line treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer in combination with a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen.

Capecitabine was non-inferior to continuously infused intravenous 5-FU in terms of progression-free survival when each was used in combination with a platinum-based drug in patients with advanced gastric cancer. It also demonstrated non-inferiority in overall survival compared with continuously infused intravenous 5-FU in patients with advanced gastric cancer when each was used in a triple regimen containing a platinum-based drug and an anthracycline drug.

Capecitabine is more expensive than 5-FU, however, the convenience of oral administration may allow changes to service delivery that have individual patient or organisational benefits.