Side Effects of Xeloda on the Eyes

Xeloda contains capecitabine, a type of oral medication used for chemotherapy in the treatment of colon and breast cancers. Despite its effectiveness at destroying cancer cells, Xeloda poses a risk for side effects, including some that affect your eyes.

Types of Eye Effects

• Side effects of Xeloda on your eyes include excessive tearing or eye watering, irritation or redness, abnormal or blurred vision. Another possible side effect is conjunctivitis, a condition where the lining of your eyelid and eyeball becomes inflamed, causing itching, drainage and redness.

Significance

• Eye irritation due to Xeloda occurs in approximately 13 percent of colon cancer and 5 percent of breast cancer patients, while abnormal vision occurs in around 5 percent, according to Food and Drug Administration clinical trials published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Both increased tearing and conjunctivitis from Xeloda occur in 5 percent of patients.

Drug Interactions

• Taking Xeloda with antacids that contain aluminum hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide slightly increases levels of the chemotherapy drug in your bloodstream. This increase makes side effects from Xeloda more likely, including those that affect your eyes.

Risks

• Infrequently, use of Xeloda results in lacrimal duct stenosis, a condition marked by the blockage of one or more of your tear ducts, which causes constant eye watering, warns the U.S. National Library of Medicine. In severe cases, lacrimal duct stenosis causes permanent blockage of the ducts and requires surgery to repair.

Considerations

• Patients over the age of 80 are more susceptible to the effects of Xeloda, making the likelihood of side effects including effects on the eyes greater, reports the Mayo Clinic.