Cancer drug erases fingerprints

A Singapore man undergoing treatment for cancer was detained for four hours by U.S. immigration officials after the drug he was taking caused his fingerprints to disappear.

Now, the unidentified man's oncologist is asking patients taking the commonly used drug, capecitabine, to carry a doctor's note when they travel to the United States.
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According to the oncologist, the patient had neck and head cancer that had spread. He responded well to chemotherapy.

To prevent a recurrence, doctors placed him on capecitabine, marketed in the United States as Xeloda.

One of the side effects of the drug is hand-foot syndrome. It causes the skin on the hands and feet to peel. With time, the drug can erase fingerprints.

"It is uncertain when the onset of fingerprint loss will take place in susceptible patients who are taking capecitabine," the doctor wrote.