Letrozole

LETROZOLE- letrozole tablet, film coated
AvKARE

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE

1.1 Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer

Letrozole tablets are indicated for the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive early breast cancer.

1.2 Extended Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer

Letrozole tablets are indicated for the extended adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer in postmenopausal women, who have received 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy. The effectiveness of letrozole tablets in extended adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer is based on an analysis of disease-free survival in patients treated with letrozole tablets for a median of 60 months [ see Clinical Studies (14.2, 14.3)].

1.3 First and Second-Line Treatment of Advanced Breast Cancer

Letrozole tablets are indicated for first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive or unknown, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Letrozole tablets are also indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy [ see Clinical Studies (14.4, 14.5)].

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

2.1 Recommended Dose

The recommended dose of letrozole tablets is one 2.5 mg tablet administered once a day, without regard to meals.

2.2 Use in Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer

In the adjuvant setting, the optimal duration of treatment with letrozole is unknown. In both the adjuvant study and the postapproval adjuvant study, median treatment duration was 5 years. Treatment should be discontinued at relapse [ see Clinical Studies (14.1) ].

2.3 Use in Extended Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer

In the extended adjuvant setting, the optimal treatment duration with letrozole tablets is not known. The planned duration of treatment in the study was 5 years. In the final updated analysis, conducted at a median follow-up of 62 months, the median treatment duration for letrozole was 60 months. Seventy-one (71%) percent of patients were treated for at least 3 years and 58% of patients completed at least 4.5 years of extended adjuvant treatment. The treatment should be discontinued at tumor relapse [ see Clinical Studies (14.2) ].

2.4 Use in First and Second-Line Treatment of Advanced Breast Cancer

In patients with advanced disease, treatment with letrozole tablets should continue until tumor progression is evident [ see Clinical Studies (14.4, 14.5)].

2.5 Use in Hepatic Impairment

No dosage adjustment is recommended for patients with mild to moderate hepatic impairment, although letrozole blood concentrations were modestly increased in subjects with moderate hepatic impairment due to cirrhosis. The dose of letrozole tablets in patients with cirrhosis and severe hepatic dysfunction should be reduced by 50% [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ]. The recommended dose of letrozole tablets for such patients is 2.5 mg administered every other day. The effect of hepatic impairment on letrozole exposure in noncirrhotic cancer patients with elevated bilirubin levels has not been determined.

2.6 Use in Renal Impairment

No dosage adjustment is required for patients with renal impairment if creatinine clearance is greater than or equal to 10 mL/min [ see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ].

3 DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS

2.5 mg tablets – dark-yellow, standard convex round, unscored, film-coated tablet, debossed with “TEVA” on one side and “B1” on the other side of the tablet.

4 CONTRAINDICATIONS

• ​ Pregnancy: Letrozole can cause fetal harm [ see Use in Specific Populations (8.1) ].
• ​ Known hypersensitivity to the active substance, or to any of the excipients [ see Adverse Reactions (6) ].

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

This product contains FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) which may cause allergic-type reactions (including bronchial asthma) in certain susceptible persons. Although the overall incidence of FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) sensitivity in the general population is low, it is frequently seen in patients who also have aspirin hypersensitivity.

5.1 Bone Effects

Use of letrozole may cause decreases in bone mineral density (BMD). Consideration should be given to monitoring BMD. Results of a safety study to evaluate safety in the adjuvant setting comparing the effect on lumbar spine (L2 to L4) BMD of adjuvant treatment with letrozole to that with tamoxifen showed at 24 months a median decrease in lumbar spine BMD of 4.1% in the letrozole arm compared to a median increase of 0.3% in the tamoxifen arm (difference = 4.4%) ( P < 0.0001) [ see Adverse Reactions (6) ]. Updated results from the BMD substudy (MA-17B) in the extended adjuvant setting demonstrated that at 2 years patients receiving letrozole had a median decrease from baseline of 3.8% in hip BMD compared to a median decrease of 2.0% in the placebo group. The changes from baseline in lumbar spine BMD in letrozole and placebo treated groups were not significantly different [ see Adverse Reactions (6) ].

In the adjuvant trial (BIG 1-98) the incidence of bone fractures at any time after randomization was 14.7% for letrozole and 11.4% for tamoxifen at a median follow-up of 96 months. The incidence of osteoporosis was 5.1% for letrozole and 2.7% for tamoxifen [ see Adverse Reactions (6) ]. In the extended adjuvant trial (MA-17), the incidence of bone fractures at any time after randomization was 13.3% for letrozole and 7.8% for placebo at a median follow-up of 62 months. The incidence of new osteoporosis was 14.5% for letrozole and 7.8% for placebo [ see Adverse Reactions (6)].

5.2 Cholesterol

Consideration should be given to monitoring serum cholesterol. In the adjuvant trial (BIG 1-98), hypercholesterolemia was reported in 52.3% of letrozole patients and 28.6% of tamoxifen patients. Grade 3 to 4 hypercholesterolemia was reported in 0.4% of letrozole patients and 0.1% of tamoxifen patients. Also in the adjuvant setting, an increase of greater than or equal to 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) in total cholesterol (generally nonfasting) was observed in patients on monotherapy who had baseline total serum cholesterol within the normal range (i.e., less than = 1.5 x ULN) in 155/1843 (8.4%) patients on letrozole vs 71/1840 (3.9%) patients on tamoxifen Lipid lowering medications were required for 29% of patients on letrozole and 20% on tamoxifen [ see Adverse Reactions (6) ].

5.3 Hepatic Impairment

Subjects with cirrhosis and severe hepatic impairment who were dosed with 2.5 mg of letrozole tablets experienced approximately twice the exposure to letrozole as healthy volunteers with normal liver function [ see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ]. Therefore, a dose reduction is recommended for this patient population. The effect of hepatic impairment on letrozole exposure in cancer patients with elevated bilirubin levels has not been determined [ see Dosage and Administration (2.5) ].