A man taking an effective drug for head and neck cancer was detained at a United States airport in 2008 because the drug caused his fingerprints to become undetectable.
The 62-year-old man, who was flying to the United States from Canada, was taking the drug capecitabine, which is an anti-metabolite drug, for treatment of his cancer after a successful round of chemotherapy. But one of the side effects of the drug can be hand-foot syndrome - a chronic inflammation of the palms or soles of the feet, which can cause the skin to peel, bleed and develop ulcers.