5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a liquid, which is administered intravenously (through a drip). Sometimes a vitamin called folinic acid is given at the same time as this helps the chemotherapy drug work better.You will often be given anti-sickness drugs (anti-emetics) at the same time.

Intravenous infusions are given through a thin, short tube (cannula) put into a vein in your arm each time you have treatment. Alternatively, you may have a central line, a portacath or a PICC line inserted just before your treatment starts. These are tubes that give the drugs directly into a large vein in your chest and will stay in place as long as you need them.

The most common side effects are:

• A drop in blood cells 
• Mouth Ulcers and/or sore mouth
• Diarrhoea
• Skin changes due to excess production of pigment
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Being or feeling sick

Occasionally, patients will experience:

• Greater sensitivity to sunlight
• Gritty eyes and blurred vision
• Hair thinning (it’s rare for it to completely fall out)
• Chipped, brittle and ridged nails
• Loss of appetite
• If you have had continuous infusions of fluorouracil over a long period you may develop redness and peeling on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet known as palmar-plantar syndrome
• Loss of fertility
• Some women may find their periods stop (amenorrhoea) this is often temporary