Pyridoxine in Preventing Hand-Foot Syndrome in Patients Who Are Receiving Capecitabine for Advanced Colorectal Cancer or Breast Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of advanced colorectal or breast carcinoma

• Hormone receptor status not specified

• Receiving single-agent capecitabine chemotherapy

• Measurable disease for response assessment, determined on an individual patient basis, using conventional clinical and/or radiological methods

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-2

• Menopausal status not specified

• Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks

• Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL

• Platelet count ≥ 100,000 mm^3

• WBC ≥ 3,000/mm^3

• ANC ≥ 1,500/mm^3

• Bilirubin ≤ 1.3 x upper limit of normal (ULN)

• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 5 x ULN

• AST and ALT ≤ 5 x ULN

• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN

• Not pregnant or nursing

• Negative pregnancy test

• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after completion of study treatment

• No other serious or uncontrolled illness which, in the opinion of the investigator, makes it undesirable for the patient to enter the trial

• No medical or psychiatric condition which would influence the ability to provide informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

• At least 6 weeks since prior investigational agents

• Concurrent radiotherapy allowed

• No other concurrent chemotherapy or immunotherapy

• No concurrent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs) for the primary purpose of treating hand-foot syndrome (HFS) or cancer

• NSAIDs for conditions other than HFS or cancer allowed