Cancer drug causes patient to lose fingerprints and be detained by USA immigration

27 May 2009

Immigration officials held a cancer patient for four hours before they allowed him to enter the USA because one of his cancer drugs caused his fingerprints to disappear. His oncologist is now advising all cancer patients who are being treated with the commonly used drug, capecitabine, to carry a doctor’s letter with them if they want to travel to the USA. The incident is highlighted in a letter to the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology.

From the letter: Travel warning with capecitabine, M. Wong, S.-P. Choo and E.-H. Tan

Published in Annals of Oncology, Advance Access published online on May 26, 2009

Read the press release online

In the news

• BBC - Cancer drug erases fingerprints
• El Mundo - Los efectos más curiosos de la quimioterapia
• Reuters - Cancer patient held at U.S. airport for missing fingerprint
• The Time - Treatment for common cancer can make fingerprints disappear

Copyright © 2009 Oxford University Press

Oxford Journals Oxford University Press

• Site Map
• Privacy Policy
• Frequently Asked Questions

Other Oxford University Press sites: Oxford University Press Oxford Journals China Oxford Journals Japan American National Biography Booksellers' Information Service Children's Fiction and Poetry Children's Reference Corporate & Special Sales Dictionaries Dictionary of National Biography Digital Reference English Language Teaching Higher Education Textbooks Humanities International Education Unit Law Medicine Music Online Products Oxford English Dictionary Reference Rights and Permissions Science School Books Social Sciences Very Short Introductions World's Classics