Letrozole: Pharmacology, toxicity and potential therapeutic effects

Give your health care provider a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Do not breastfeed during treatment with letrozole or for 3 weeks after your last dose. Tell your healthcare provider if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Letrozole belongs to a class of medicines called aromatase inhibitors. It works by blocking an enzyme called aromatase that helps produce estrogen in the body.

• Keep all appointments to have your blood cholesterol checked.
• However, for some people they may cause distress and disrupt everyday life.
• Letrozole is used to treat breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
• Be sure to tell your healthcare provider about all medications and supplements you take.

Eating large amounts of these types of foods might counteract the action of letrozole and reduce its effectiveness. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is pressure on a nerve in your wrist. This causes pain, tingling and numbness in your arm, hand or fingers. Sometimes it can go away on its own, but it can take months to get better. Speak to your GP or specialist if you have any of these symptoms. Exercise that gently stretches your joints or strengthens your muscles to better support your joints, such as yoga or Pilates, may help improve your symptoms.

Side Effects

If you have a history of high cholesterol you may want to discuss this with your specialist or GP. Your bone density may be checked every two to three years while you’re taking letrozole, depending on the results from the initial scan or whether your specialist has any concerns. If you have difficulty sleeping (insomnia), some simple things like limiting caffeine in the afternoon and evening, keeping your room dark and quiet, and going to bed and getting up at a set time each day may help. Aching or pain in the joints and muscles is often mild and temporary, although for some people it’s more severe and longer lasting.

Additional analyses were conducted from randomization (STA-R)but these comparisons (added in light of changing medical practice) were under-powered for efficacy. Other less frequent (less than or equal to 2%) adverse reactions considered consequential for both treatment groups, includedperipheral thromboembolic events, cardiovascular events, and cerebrovascular events. Peripheral thromboembolic events includedvenous thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, portal vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Cardiovascular events included angina,myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia, and coronary heart disease.

If you have questions about using Femara for breast cancer, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. The half-life is the amount of time it takes for the drug level in your body to decrease by half. In other words, it takes about 2 days for your body to get rid of half of a Femara dose. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil), may be effective for relieving headaches. But make sure you talk with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medications with Femara.

Letrozole oral tablets may not be right for you if you have certain medical conditions or other factors that affect your health. Talk with your doctor about your health history before you take letrozole oral tablets. In studies, joint pain was a common side effect of letrozole. Letrozole and other drugs in the same group of medications commonly cause joint pain and stiffness. Serious side effects from letrozole oral tablets can occur, but they aren’t common.

However, you would need to discuss this with your treatment team as not all types are suitable for women with breast cancer. Letrozole is a hormone therapy drug used to treat breast cancer in women who’ve gone through a natural menopause (when periods stop). It can also be used in premenopausal women having ovarian suppression. Letrozole is a hormone therapy that lowers oestrogen levels. Read about when letrozole (Femara) is prescribed, how it works and potential side effects.

First And Second-Line Treatment Of Advanced Breast Cancer

In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at letrozole for fertility, how it works, and things to consider when taking letrozole. AUC was increased (37%) in adults with moderate hepatic impairment (e.g., cirrhosis, Child-Pugh class A and B); drug exposure was within range observed in patients without hepatic impairment. Effect of hepatic impairment on letrozole exposure in cancer patients with elevated bilirubin levels not determined. Consider adverse effects, patient preference, and preexisting conditions when selecting an adjuvant regimen; during the course of adjuvant therapy, patients who are intolerant of one treatment may be switched to a different treatment. The debates over the merits of letrozole and CC in anovulatory infertility have never stopped. According to the above evidence, the current recommendation is letrozole used as first-line agent for PCOS (34) and other WHO group II anovulation patients (35).

In post-marketing reports, use of letrozole during pregnancy resulted in cases of spontaneous abortions and congenital birth defects. Letrozole caused embryo-fetal toxicities in rats and rabbits at maternal exposures https://iitem-tamba.com/steroids-pharmacological-understanding-their-uses-6/ that were below the maximum recommended human dose (MHRD) on a mg/m2 basis. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during therapy with letrozole and for at least 3 weeks after the last dose see Adverse Reactions (6.2), Use in Specific Populations (8.1, 8.3), and Clinical Pharmacology (12.1).

Breastfeeding is not recommended while having letrozole, or within a week of the last dose. This is because there’s a risk the drugs could be passed on through breast milk. If you’re taking letrozole to treat breast cancer that has come back or spread to another part of the body, you’ll usually take it for as long as it’s keeping the cancer under control. Occasionally, letrozole may be used as the first treatment for breast cancer, for example when surgery isn’t appropriate or needs to be delayed.