Acute myeloid leukaemia secondary to treatment with capecitabine for metastatic colorectal cancer

A 63-year-old woman was diagnosed with acute myelo-monocytic leukaemia, associated with MLL gene rearrangement, 16 months after completion of oral capecitabine for metastatic colon cancer. Capecitabine, recommended for use in metastatic breast and colon cancer and more recently as adjuvant treatment of colon cancer, has not previously been reported to be associated with secondary cancer.