Is Capecitabine Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Capecitabine? Is Capecitabine safe for nursing mother and child? Does Capecitabine extracts into breast milk? Does Capecitabine has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Capecitabine influence milk supply or can Capecitabine decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Capecitabine lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Capecitabine is 7 out of 8 which is considered Dangerous as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 7 indicates that usage of Capecitabine may cause toxic or severe side effects in breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research indicates that Capecitabine may cause moderate to high side effects or may affect milk supply in lactating mother.
- Our suggestion is to use safer alternate options rather than using Capecitabine .
- Usage of Capecitabine is in contradiction to breastfeeding hence if it is must to use Capecitabine and there is no better alternative available then breastfeeding shall be stopped permanently or temporarily.
- Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.
Answer by Dr. Ru: About Capecitabine usage in lactation
Drug is cleared from the body in 25 elimination half-lives. Resuming breastfeeding is possible after 24 hours of pumping-and-dumping.
Answer by DrLact: About Capecitabine usage in lactation
Most sources consider breastfeeding to be contraindicated during maternal antineoplastic drug therapy. It might be possible to breastfeed safely during intermittent therapy with an appropriate period of breastfeeding abstinence; the manufacturer recommends an abstinence period of 2 weeks. Capecitabine is metabolized to fluorouracil. Limited information indicates that a maternal continuous intravenous fluorouracil infusion at a dose of 200 mg/square meter daily produces undetectable levels in milk. If capecitabine use is undertaken, monitoring of the infant's complete blood count and differential is advisable. Chemotherapy may adversely affect the normal microbiome and chemical makeup of breastmilk.[1] Women who receive chemotherapy during pregnancy are more likely to have difficulty nursing their infant.[2]
Alternate Drugs
Gemcitabine(Dangerous)
Capecitabine(Dangerous)
Thioguanine(Dangerous)
Fluorouracil(Dangerous)
Mercaptopurine(Safe)
Capecitabine(Dangerous)
Fluorouracil(Dangerous)
Methotrexate(Low Risk)