The oral fluoropyrimidine agent capecitabine ['Xeloda'; Roche] has shown efficacy in the treatment of solid tumours, such as colorectal cancer and breast cancer. Capecitabine use is also associated with fewer adverse effects, and greater tolerability and efficacy, than other standard cancer therapies. However, newer antineoplastic therapies, such as capecitabine, tend to be more costly than older therapies, and studies that compare overall cost effectiveness of such drugs with older therapies are therefore of great interest to healthcare payers. At the 7th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research [Arlington, Virginia, US; May 2002], two studies providing an economic evaluation of capecitabine were presented at sessions dedicated to cancer research.