Cancer Drug Erases Man's Fingerprints
Traveler Was Stopped at Border Because
of a Side Effect of Xeloda
By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
May 27, 2009 -- A 62-year-old Singapore man was temporarily denied entry into
the U.S. because a cancer drug he was taking had made his fingerprints
disappear, according to a letter published in the Annals of Oncology.
Eng-Huat Tan, MD, a senior consultant in the medical
oncology department at Singapore's National Cancer Center, says his patient,
identified as "Mr. S," had been taking the drug Xeloda since July 2005 to
prevent recurrence of advanced cancer that had responded well to chemotherapy.
The cancer patient was detained by U.S. Customs officials for four hours in
December 2008 because they could not detect fingerprints. The Customs officials
later determined that the man was not a security threat.
Tan says people being treated with Xeloda, described as an oral chemotherapy
drug, should carry a letter from their doctor that they are taking the
medication if they want to travel to countries that require fingerprints for
identification.
According to the letter in Annals of Oncology, other cancer patients taking
the drug have reported similar side effects.
Foreign visitors have been asked to provide fingerprints at U.S. entry points
for a number of years. The images are matched with millions of visa holders to
detect whether the visitor has a visa under a different name; visitors'
fingerprints are also compared to fingerprints of criminals, Tan says in the
letter.
"Mr. S" did not know his fingerprints had disappeared, according to Tan.
Xeloda is indicated for the treatment of
breast and
colorectal cancers. One of its side effects is be a condition known as hand-foot
syndrome. Symptoms include swelling, redness, tingling, numbness, and pain of the hands and/or
feet; the skin can peel, bleed, and develop ulcers or blisters.
"This can give rise to eradication of fingerprints with time," Tan says.
According to the letter, "Mr. S" developed a mild case of hand-foot syndrome
and was kept on the drug because it was not affecting his daily life.
"In December 2008, after more than three years of [Xeloda], he went to the
United States to visit his relatives," Tan writes. It was on that visit that he
was detained by customs officials.
Tan says it's "uncertain'' how long people would have to take the drug for
their fingerprints to disappear. It's possible, he adds, that a growing number
of people treated with the drug could experience the same problem and all should
"prepare adequately" before traveling to avoid the "inconvenience" experienced
by his patient.
Tan says "Mr. S" traveled again to the U.S., this time equipped with a
doctor's letter, and had fewer problems getting through.
SOURCES:
News release, Annals of Oncology.
Wong, M. Annals of Oncology, 2009.
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