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Femara
(letrozole) Tablets for Oral Administration

DESCRIPTION

Femara tablets for oral administration contains 2.5 mg of letrozole, a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (inhibitor of estrogen synthesis). It is chemically described as 4,4'-(1H-1,2,4-Triazol-1ylmethylene)dibenzonitrile, and its structural formula is

Letrozole is a white to yellowish crystalline powder, practically odorless, freely soluble in dichloromethane, slightly soluble in ethanol, and practically insoluble in water. It has a molecular weight of 285.31, empirical formula C17H11N5, and a melting range of 184°C to 185°C.

Femara is available as 2.5 mg tablets for oral administration.

Inactive Ingredients: Colloidal silicon dioxide, ferric oxide, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, maize starch, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, sodium starch glycolate, talc, and titanium dioxide.

INDICATIONS

Adjuvant Treatment Of Early Breast Cancer

Femara (letrozole) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive early breast cancer.

Extended Adjuvant Treatment Of Early Breast Cancer

Femara is 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 Femara in extended adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer is based on an analysis of disease-free survival in patients treated with Femara for a median of 60 months [see Clinical Studies].

First and Second-Line Treatment Of Advanced Breast Cancer

Femara is indicated for first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive or unknown, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Femara is also indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy [see Clinical Studies].

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

Recommended Dose

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

Use In Adjuvant Treatment Of Early Breast Cancer

In the adjuvant setting, the optimal duration of treatment with letrozole is unknown. The planned duration of treatment in the study was 5 years with 73% of the patients having completed adjuvant therapy. Treatment should be discontinued at relapse [see Clinical Studies].

Use In Extended Adjuvant Treatment Of Early Breast Cancer

In the extended adjuvant setting, the optimal treatment duration with Femara 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 was 60 months. Seventy-one percent of patients were treated for at least 3 years and 58% of patients completed least 4.5 years of extended adjuvant treatment. The treatment should be discontinued at tumor relapse [see Clinical Studies].

Use In First And Second-Line Treatment Of Advanced Breast Cancer

In patients with advanced disease, treatment with Femara should continue until tumor progression is evident. [see Clinical Studies]

Use In Hepatic Impairment

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

Use In Renal Impairment

No dosage adjustment is required for patients with renal impairment if creatinine clearance is ≥ 10 mL/min. [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY].

HOW SUPPLIED

Dosage Forms And Strengths

2.5 mg tablets: dark yellow, film-coated, round, slightly biconvex, with beveled edges (imprinted with the letters FV on one side and CG on the other side).

Storage And Handling

Packaged in HDPE bottles with a safety screw cap.

2.5 milligram tablets Bottles of 30 tablets..............................................NDC 0078-0249-15

Store at 25°C (77°F); excursions permitted to 15 to 30°C (59 to 86°F) [see USP Controlled Room Temperature].

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation East Hanover, New Jersey, 07936. Revised: Jan 2014

SIDE EFFECTS

The most serious adverse reactions from the use of Femara are:

• Bone effects [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
• Increases in cholesterol [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reactions rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Adjuvant Treatment Of Early Breast Cancer

The median treatment duration of adjuvant treatment was 60 months and the median duration of follow-up for safety was 73 months for patients receiving Femara and tamoxifen.

Certain adverse reactions wer e prospectively specified for analysis, based on the known pharmacologic properties and side effect profiles of the two drugs.

Adverse reactions wer e analyzed irrespective of whether a symptom was present or absent at baseline. Most adverse reactions reported (approximately 75% of patients reporting 1 or more AE) were Grade 1 or Grade 2 applying the Common Toxicity Criteria Version 2.0/ Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0. Table 1 describes adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) irrespective of relationship to study treatment in the adjuvant trial for the monotherapy arms analysis (safety population).

Table 1: Patients with Adverse Reactions (CTC Grades 1-4, Irrespective of Relationship to Study Drug) in the Adjuvant Study – Monotherapy Arms Analysis (Median Follow-up 73 Months; Median Treatment 60 Months)

When considering all grades during study treatment, a higher incidence of events was seen for Femara regarding fractures (10.1% vs 7.1%), myocardial infarctions (1.0% vs 0.5%), and arthralgia (25.2% vs 20.4%) (Femara vs tamoxifen respectively). A higher incidence was seen for tamoxifen regarding thromboembolic events (2.1% vs 3.6%), endometrial hyperplasia/cancer (0.3% vs 2.9%), and endometrial proliferation disorders (0.3% vs 1.8%) (Femara vs tamoxifen respectively).

At a median follow up of 73 months, a higher incidence of events was seen for Femara (13.8%) than for tamoxifen (10.5%) regarding fractures. A higher incidence was seen for tamoxifen compared to Femara regarding thromboembolic events (4.5% vs 2.9%), and endometrial hyperplasia or cancer (2.9% vs 0.4%) (tamoxifen vs Femara, respectively).

Bone Study: Results of a phase 3 safety trial in 262 postmenopausal women with resected receptor positive early breast cancer in the adjuvant setting comparing the effect on lumbar spine (L2-L4) bone mineral density (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). No patients with a nor mal BMD at baseline became osteoporotic over the 2 years and only 1 patient with osteopenia at baseline (T score of -1.9) developed osteoporosis during the treatment period (assessment by central review). The results for total hip BMD were similar, although the differences between the two treatments were less pronounced. During the 2 year period, fractures were reported by 4 of 103 patients (4%) in the letrozole arm, and 6 of 97 patients (6%) in the tamoxifen arm.

Lipid Study: In a phase 3 safety trial in 262 postmenopausal women with resected receptor positive early breast cancer at 24 months comparing the effects on lipid profiles of adjuvant letrozole to tamoxifen, 12% of patients on letrozole had at least one total cholesterol value of a higher CTCAE grade than at baseline compared with 4% of patients on tamoxifen.

Extended Adjuvant Treatment Of Early Breast Cancer, Median Treatment Duration Of 24 Months

The median duration of extended adjuvant treatment was 24 months and the median duration of follow-up for safety was 28 months for patients receiving Femara and placebo.

Table 2 describes the adverse reactions occurring at a frequency of at least 5% in any treatment group during treatment. Most adverse reactions reported were Grade 1 and Grade 2 based on the Common Toxicity Criteria Version 2.0. In the extended adjuvant setting, the reported drug-related adverse reactions that were significantly different from placebo were hot flashes, arthralgia/arthritis, and myalgia.

Table 2: Percentage of Patients with Adverse Reactions