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Topical Chemotherapy Side Effects

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in both men and women in the United States, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To treat skin cancer, doctors sometimes prescribe topical chemotherapy creams of a medication called fluorouracil that are applied directly to the skin tumor.

  1. Types of Common Side Effects

    • Most patients who use topical chemotherapy cream experience skin irritation due to the effects of the cream, according to UK Cancer Research. Symptoms of this irritation include skin redness, soreness and inflammation.

    Features

    • Using an air- and water-tight, or occlusive, dressing to cover your skin after applying topical chemotherapy cream increases your risk of developing irritation, reports RxList.

    Solution

    • For cases of severe inflammation, doctors sometimes prescribe a topical corticosteroid cream like prednisone to apply with topical chemotherapy creams, reports UK Cancer Research. These steroid medications help relieve redness and irritation.

    Drug Interactions

    • When taken with the seizure medication phenytoin, the antibiotic levamisole, the intravenous chemotherapy drug leucovorin and levoleucovorin, which is used to treat toxicity caused by certain drugs, fluorouracil used for topical chemotherapy poses an increased risk of side effects, reports the Mayo Clinic.

    Risks

    • Some patients develop severe allergic reactions to topical chemotherapy, causing skin rashes. Fluorouracil has the potential to make your skin more sensitive to the sun, increasing the risk of getting a severe sunburn on the area where the cream is applied.

    Considerations

    • Topical chemotherapy medications are not safe for use during pregnancy. If you suffer from dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) enzyme deficiency, it may not be safe for you to receive fluorouracil treatments, warns the Mayo Clinic.

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