Patent ID: 8653090

Claim:
A method for prevention of gastrointestinal toxicity in a plurality of gastrointestinal cells caused by administration of 5-fluorouracil to a cancer patient, the method comprising the steps of: a) administering the 5-fluorouracil to the cancer patient at a treatment dosage sufficient to cause a cancer cell toxicity of cancer cells of the cancer patient; and b) administering adenine and orotate to the cancer patient at a sustained dosage sufficient to prevent gastrointestinal toxicity in the plurality of gastrointestinal cells from the 5-fluorouracil administered in step a) but insufficient to give systemic levels of adenine and orotate to salvage the cancer cells from the cancer cell toxicity of the 5-fluorouracil administered in step a), wherein the sustained dosage provides the adenine at a concentration of at least 0.125 mM to the plurality of gastrointestinal cells of the patient and wherein gastrointestinal toxicity is prevented.