Estring

ESTRING- estradiol system
Pfizer Laboratories Div Pfizer Inc

PHYSICIAN’S LEAFLET

WARNINGS: ENDOMETRIAL CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS, BREAST CANCER AND PROBABLE DEMENTIA

Estrogen-Alone Therapy

Endometrial Cancer

There is an increased risk of endometrial cancer in a woman with a uterus who uses unopposed estrogens. Adding a progestin to estrogen therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of endometrial hyperplasia, which may be a precursor to endometrial cancer. Adequate diagnostic measures, including directed and random endometrial sampling when indicated, should be undertaken to rule out malignancy in all cases of undiagnosed persistent or recurring abnormal genital bleeding. (See WARNINGS, Malignant Neoplasms, Endometrial Cancer.)

Cardiovascular Disorders and Probable Dementia

Estrogen-alone therapy should not be used for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Cardiovascular Disorders, and Probable Dementia.)

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) estrogen-alone substudy reported increased risks of stroke and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in postmenopausal women (50 to 79 years of age) during 7.1 years of treatment with daily oral conjugated estrogens (CE) [0.625 mg]-alone, relative to placebo. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Cardiovascular Disorders.)

The WHI Memory Study (WHIMS)estrogen-alone ancillary study of the WHI reported an increased risk of developing probable dementia in postmenopausal women 65 years of age or older during 5.2 years of treatment with daily CE (0.625 mg)-alone, relative to placebo. It is unknown whether this finding applies to younger postmenopausal women. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Probable Dementia and PRECAUTIONS, Geriatric Use.)

In the absence of comparable data, these risks should be assumed to be similar for other doses of CE and other dosage forms of estrogens.

Estrogens with or without progestins should be prescribed at the lowest effective doses and for the shortest duration consistent with treatment goals and risks for the individual woman.

Estrogen Plus Progestin Therapy

Cardiovascular Disorders and Probable Dementia

Estrogen plus progestin therapy should not be used for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Cardiovascular Disorders and Probable Dementia.)

The WHI estrogen plus progestin substudy reported increased risks of DVT, pulmonary embolism (PE), stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) in postmenopausal women (50 to 79 years of age) during 5.6 years of treatment with daily oral CE (0.625 mg) combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) [2.5 mg], relative to placebo. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Cardiovascular Disorders.)

The WHIMS estrogen plus progestin ancillary study of the WHI reported an increased risk of developing probable dementia in postmenopausal women 65 years of age or older during 4 years of treatment with daily CE (0.625 mg) combined with MPA (2.5 mg), relative to placebo. It is unknown whether this finding applies to younger postmenopausal women. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Probable Dementia and PRECAUTIONS, Geriatric Use.)

Breast Cancer

The WHI estrogen plus progestin substudy also demonstrated an increased risk of invasive breast cancer. (See CLINICAL STUDIES and WARNINGS, Malignant Neoplasms, Breast Cancer.)

In the absence of comparable data, these risks should be assumed to be similar for other doses of CE plus MPA, and other combinations and dosage forms of estrogens and progestins.

Estrogens with or without progestins should be prescribed at the lowest doses and for the shortest duration consistent with treatment goals and risks for the individual woman.

DESCRIPTION

ESTRING® (estradiol vaginal system) is a slightly opaque ring with a whitish core containing a drug reservoir of 2 mg estradiol. Estradiol, silicone polymers, barium sulfate and silicone fluid (as dispersing agent) are combined to form the ring. When placed in the vagina, ESTRING releases estradiol, approximately 7.5 mcg per day, in a consistent stable manner over 90 days. ESTRING has the following dimensions: outer diameter 55 mm; cross-sectional diameter 9 mm; core diameter 2 mm. One ESTRING should be inserted into the upper third of the vaginal vault, to be worn continuously for three months.

Estradiol is chemically described as estra-1, 3, 5(10)-triene-3, 17β-diol. The molecular formula of estradiol is C18 H24 O2 and the structural formula is:

Chemical Structure

The molecular weight of estradiol is 272.39.

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Endogenous estrogens are largely responsible for the development and maintenance of the female reproductive system and secondary sexual characteristics. Although circulating estrogens exist in a dynamic equilibrium of metabolic interconversions, estradiol is the principal intracellular human estrogen and is substantially more potent than its metabolites, estrone and estriol, at the receptor level.

The primary source of estrogen in normally cycling adult women is the ovarian follicle, which secretes 70 to 500 mcg of estradiol daily, depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle. After menopause, most endogenous estrogen is produced by conversion of androstenedione, secreted by the adrenal cortex, to estrone in the peripheral tissues. Thus, estrone and the sulfate conjugated form, estrone sulfate, are the most abundant circulating estrogens in postmenopausal women.

Estrogens act through binding to nuclear receptors in estrogen-responsive tissues. To date, two estrogen receptors have been identified. These vary in proportion from tissue to tissue.

Circulating estrogens modulate the pituitary secretion of the gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), through a negative feedback mechanism. Estrogens act to reduce the elevated levels of these hormones seen in postmenopausal women.

Pharmacokinetics

Absorption

Estrogens used in therapeutics are well absorbed through the skin, mucous membranes, and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The vaginal delivery of estrogens circumvents first-pass metabolism.

In a Phase I study of 14 postmenopausal women, the insertion of ESTRING (estradiol vaginal system) rapidly increased serum estradiol (E2 ) levels. The time to attain peak serum estradiol levels (Tmax ) was 0.5 to 1 hour. Peak serum estradiol concentrations post-initial burst declined rapidly over the next 24 hours and were virtually indistinguishable from the baseline mean (range: 5 to 22 pg/mL). Serum levels of estradiol and estrone (E1 ) over the following 12 weeks during which the ring was maintained in the vaginal vault remained relatively unchanged (see Table 1).

The initial estradiol peak post-application of the second ring in the same women resulted in ~38 percent lower Cmax , apparently due to reduced systemic absorption via the treated vaginal epithelium. The relative systemic exposure from the initial peak of ESTRING accounted for approximately 4 percent of the total estradiol exposure over the 12-week period.

The release of estradiol from ESTRING was demonstrated in a Phase II study of 222 postmenopausal women who inserted up to four rings consecutively at three-month intervals. Systemic delivery of estradiol from ESTRING resulted in mean steady state serum estradiol estimates of 7.8, 7.0, 7.0, 8.1 pg/mL at weeks 12, 24, 36, and 48, respectively. Similar reproducibility is also seen in levels of estrone. The systemic exposure to estradiol and estrone was within the range observed in untreated women after the first eight hours.

In postmenopausal women, mean dose of estradiol systemically absorbed unchanged from ESTRING is ~8 percent [95 percent CI: 2.8–12.8 percent] of the daily amount released locally.

TABLE 1: PHARMACOKINETIC MEAN ESTIMATES FOLLOWING SINGLE ESTRING APPLICATION
Estrogen Cmax (pg/mL) Css–48 hr (pg/mL) Css–4w (pg/mL) Css–12w (pg/mL)
*
n=14
Based on means

Estradiol (E2 )

63.2*

11.2

9.5

8.0

Baseline-adjusted E2

55.6

3.6

2.0

0.4

Estrone (E1 )

66.3

52.5

43.8

47.0

Baseline-adjusted E1

20.0

6.2

-2.4

0.8

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