Capecitabine tablets

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for your question. My name is Penelope and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists. I can see you have joined some our forums. I hope you are finding them helpful and supportive.

With any questions related to your medication we would always suggest you speak to your doctor, specialist nurse, an oncology pharmacist or dietitian. They are best placed to advise you of any possible drug interactions or foods to avoid.

Whilst we cannot give information specific to you, I have looked at general information about capecitabine. The information I have found does not state to avoid dairy in the patient information leaflet. You could also check any patient information included with your tablets if you have it. I have also searched for any food interactions with capecitabine on the website drugs.com. It does not mention dairy as a possible interaction.

I did find one small scale study published in 2022 of 130 people taking capecitabine for colorectal (bowel) cancer. This study suggested that milk and egg were risk factors for hand-foot syndrome (milk) and bone marrow suppression (eggs). The study recommendation was that patients with high milk and egg intakes should be advised to modify their diet to reduce the likelihood of developing these side effects. This was a very small-scale study, however, so we would suggest getting further advice before stopping your fortisip drinks or changing your diet.

Avoiding dairy may also be recommended for people with diarrhoea as a side effect of capecitabine treatment. With any information online it is important to use only recognised sources. There can often be conflicting information out there that may not be evidenced based. For information specific to you please do speak to a health care professional involved in your care instead.

Best wishes,

Penelope, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Ref/ KHe