Life-threatening toxicity of oral tegafur-uracil (UFT) plus leucovorin

UFT. a a combination of tegafur and uracil, is increasingly used in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. We report on a life-threatening toxicity observed in a 74-year-old female while undergoing adjuvant treatment with oral UFT plus leucovorm for adenocarcinoma of the rectum. The patient developed grade 4 thrombocytopenia, grade 4 neutropenia, grade 3 infection, grade 3 neurotoxicity and grade 2 cutaneous toxicity. This oral double-agent regimen should be used with caution in the adjuvant treatment of elderly patients with gastro-intestinal malignancies.