Make sure fingerprints exist before traveling the globe

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Most people give their fingerprints little thought, simply assuming they’re at the tips of their hands where they belong. And if they’re undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer, like a recent traveler to the United States, they have considerably more important things to worry about anyway.

But that fingerprint assumption can make for a travel nightmare.

A cancer patient from Singapore who was attempting to visit relatives in the United States was held up for four hours in customs because officials couldn’t detect his fingerprints. His chemotherapy drug, capecitabine, had caused them to disappear.

The traveler, known as Mr. S., finally got through, but he was advised to carry a doctor’s note next time. One would imagine he figured that out sometime in the first hour.

His oncologist went beyond writing a single note, issuing a heads up to pretty much everyone about the possibility of fingerprint loss. His travel warning, in the form of a letter to the editor, was published online Tuesday in Annals of Oncology.

It concludes, in referring to patients taking the drug capecitabine: ‘These patients should prepare adequately before traveling to avert the inconvenience that Mr S was put through.’

The letter also points out that others may benefit from long-term use of the drug. And, if so, more people could encounter trouble when traveling.

Here’s some background:

Capecitabine (brand name Xeloda) is a common chemotherapy drug. Sometimes, it causes a reaction called hand-foot syndrome, especially when taken long term, leaving the palms and soles tender and red and making them swell and peel. (More on capecitabine from Rxlist.)

Other drugs can cause the condition as well, says Cancer.net, including cytarabine, floxuridine, fluorouracil, idarubin and liposomal doxorubicin.

Here’s what Chemocare.com advises for managing the condition. Reducing friction and heat exposure is crucial. Those conditions, on top of the drug-caused effects on the capillaries, do not improve your chances of hassle-free traveling.

-- Tami Dennis