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Anastrozole is a brand name for Anastrozole. The medicine, its uses, side effects and dosage are the same regardless of brand.
Used for: 1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE Anastrozole is an aromatase inhibitor indicated for: Adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer ( 1.1 ) First-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor unknown locally advanced or metastatic…
Verbatim from this product's FDA label. Tap a section to expand.
1 Recommended Dose The dose of anastrozole tablet is one 1 mg tablet taken once a day. For patients with advanced breast cancer, anastrozole tablets should be continued until tumor progression. Anastrozole tablets can be taken with or without food.
For adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer in postmenopausal women, the optimal duration of therapy is unknown. 1 )]. 6 )]. 2 Patients with Hepatic Impairment No changes in dose are recommended for patients with mild-to-moderate hepatic impairment.
7 )].
6 ADVERSE REACTIONS Serious adverse reactions with anastrozole occurring in less than 1 in 10,000 patients, are: 1) skin reactions such as lesions, ulcers, or blisters; 2) allergic reactions with swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat.
2 )]. Common adverse reactions (occurring with an incidence of ≥10%) in women taking anastrozole included: hot flashes, asthenia, arthritis, pain, arthralgia, hypertension, depression, nausea and vomiting, rash, osteoporosis, fractures, back pain, insomnia, headache, bone pain, peripheral edema, increased cough, dyspnea, pharyngitis and lymphedema.
1%) leading to discontinuation of therapy for both treatment groups was hot flashes, although there were fewer patients who discontinued therapy as a result of hot flashes in the anastrozole group. Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction 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.
In the early breast cancer (ATAC) study, the most common (occurring with an incidence of ≥10%) side effects occurring in women taking anastrozole included: hot flashes, asthenia, arthritis, pain, arthralgia, pharyngitis, hypertension, depression, nausea and vomiting, rash, osteoporosis, fractures, back pain, insomnia, headache, peripheral edema and lymphedema, regardless of causality.
1 ) In the advanced breast cancer studies, the most common (occurring with an incidence of >10%) side effects occurring in women taking anastrozole included: hot flashes, nausea, asthenia, pain, headache, back pain, bone pain, increased cough, dyspnea, pharyngitis and peripheral edema.
1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Accord Healthcare Inc. 1)]. 6 months for patients receiving anastrozole 1 mg and tamoxifen 20 mg, respectively. Adverse reactions occurring with an incidence of at least 5% in either treatment group during treatment or within 14 days of the end of treatment are presented in Table 1.
5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS In women with pre-existing ischemic heart disease, an increased incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events occurred with anastrozole use compared to tamoxifen use. Consider risks and benefits. 1 ) Decreases in bone mineral density may occur.
Consider bone mineral density monitoring. 1 ) Increases in total cholesterol may occur. Consider cholesterol monitoring. 1 ) Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Anastrozole may cause fetal harm. Advise patients of the potential risk to a fetus and to use effective contraception.
1 Ischemic Cardiovascular Events In women with pre-existing ischemic heart disease, an increased incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events was observed with anastrozole in the ATAC trial (17% of patients on anastrozole and 10% of patients on tamoxifen).
1 )]. 2 Bone Effects Results from the ATAC trial bone substudy at 12 and 24 months demonstrated that patients receiving anastrozole had a mean decrease in both lumbar spine and total hip bone mineral density (BMD) compared to baseline.
Patients receiving tamoxifen had a mean increase in both lumbar spine and total hip BMD compared to baseline. 1 )] . 1 )]. 4 Embryo-Fetal Toxicity Based on findings from animal studies and its mechanism of action, anastrozole can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman.
Anastrozole caused embryo-fetal toxicities in rats at maternal exposure that were 9 times the human clinical exposure, based on area under the curve (AUC). In rabbits, anastrozole caused pregnancy failure at doses equal to or greater than 16 times the recommended human dose on a mg/m 2 basis.
Advise pregnant women and females of reproductive potential of the potential risk to a fetus. 1 )].
4 CONTRAINDICATIONS Hypersensitivity Anastrozole is contraindicated in any patient who has shown a hypersensitivity reaction to the drug or to any of the excipients. 2 )]. Patients with demonstrated hypersensitivity to anastrozole or any excipient ( 4 )
Not medical advice. Always read the patient information leaflet and follow your prescriber or pharmacist.
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Table 1 - Adverse reactions occurring with an incidence of at least 5% in either treatment group during treatment, or within 14 days of the end of treatment in the ATAC trial The combination arm was discontinued due to lack of efficacy benefit at 33 months of follow-up.
Body system and adverse reactions by COSTART COSTART Coding Symbols for Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction Terms. preferred term A patient may have had more than 1 adverse reaction, including more than 1 adverse reaction in the same body system.
Anastrozole 1 mg (N N=Number of patients receiving the treatment. 5) Musculoskeletal Arthritis 512 (17) 445 (14) Arthralgia 467 (15) 344 (11) Osteoporosis 325 (11) 226 (7) Fracture 315 (10) 209 (7) Bone pain 201 (7) 185 (6) Arthrosis 207 (7) 156 (5) Joint Disorder 184 (6) 160 (5) Myalgia 179 (6) 160 (5) Nervous system Depression 413 (13) 382 (12) Insomnia 309 (10) 281 (9) Dizziness 236 (8) 234 (8) Anxiety 195 (6) 180 (6) Paresthesia 215 (7) 145 (5) Respiratory Pharyngitis 443 (14) 422 (14) Cough increased 261 (8) 287 (9) Dyspnea 234 (8) 237 (8) Sinusitis 184 (6) 159 (5) Bronchitis 167 (5) 153 (5) Skin and appendages Rash 333 (11) 387 (13) Sweating 145 (5) 177 (6) Special Senses Cataract Specified 182 (6) 213 (7) Urogenital Leukorrhea 86 (3) 286 (9) Urinary tract infection 244 (8) 313 (10) Breast pain 251 (8) 169 (6) Breast Neoplasm 164 (5) 139 (5) Vulvovaginitis 194 (6) 150 (5) Vaginal Hemorrhage Vaginal Hemorrhage without further diagnosis.
122 (4) 180 (6) Vaginitis 125 (4) 158 (5) Certain adverse reactions and combinations of adverse reactions were prospectively specified for analysis, based on the known pharmacologic properties and side effect profiles of the two drugs (see Table 2 ).
Table 2 — Number of Patients with Pre-specified Adverse Reactions in ATAC Trial Patients with multiple events in the same category are counted only once in that category. 89 Musculoskeletal Events Refers to joint symptoms, including joint disorder, arthritis, arthrosis and arthralgia.
94 Ischemic Cardiovascular Events Between treatment arms in the overall population of 6186 patients, there was no statistical difference in ischemic cardiovascular events (4% anastrozole vs. 3% tamoxifen). 1%) patients in the tamoxifen arm.
5%), the incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events was 17% in patients on anastrozole and 10% in patients on tamoxifen. 2%) patients receiving tamoxifen. Bone Mineral Density Findings Results from the ATAC trial bone substudy at 12 and 24 months demonstrated that patients receiving anastrozole had a mean decrease in both lumbar spine and total hip bone mineral density (BMD) compared to baseline.
Patients receiving tamoxifen had a mean increase in both lumbar spine and total hip BMD compared to baseline. Because anastrozole lowers circulating estrogen levels it may cause a reduction in bone mineral density. A post-marketing trial assessed the combined effects of anastrozole and the bisphosphonate risedronate on changes from baseline in BMD and markers of bone resorption and formation in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.
All patients received calcium and vitamin D supplementation. At 12 months, small reductions in lumbar spine bone mineral density were noted in patients not receiving bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonate treatment preserved bone density in most patients at risk of fracture.
Postmenopausal women with early breast cancer scheduled to be treated with anastrozole should have their bone status managed according to treatment guidelines already available for postmenopausal women at similar risk of fragility fracture.
5%, respectively). A post-marketing trial also evaluated any potential effects of anastrozole on lipid profile. In the primary analysis population for lipids (anastrozole alone), there was no clinically significant change in LDL-C from baseline to 12 months and HDL-C from baseline to 12 months.
In secondary population for lipids (anastrozole+risedronate), there also was no clinically significant change in LDL-C and HDL-C from baseline to 12 months. In both populations for lipids, there was no clinically significant difference in total cholesterol (TC) or serum triglycerides (TG) at 12 months compared with baseline.
In this trial, treatment for 12 months with anastrozole alone had a neutral effect on lipid profile. Combination treatment with anastrozole and risedronate also had a neutral effect on lipid profile. The trial provides evidence that postmenopausal women with early breast cancer scheduled to be treated with anastrozole should be managed using the current National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for cardiovascular risk-based management of individual patients with LDL elevations.
Other Adverse Reactions Patients receiving anastrozole had an increase in joint disorders (including arthritis, arthrosis and arthralgia) compared with patients receiving tamoxifen. Patients receiving anastrozole had an increase in the incidence of all fractures (specifically fractures of spine, hip and wrist) [315 (10%)] compared with patients receiving tamoxifen [209 (7%)].
7%)]. Vaginal bleeding occurred more frequently in the tamoxifen-treated patients versus the anastrozole -treated patients 317 (10%) versus 167 (5%), respectively. Patients receiving anastrozole had a lower incidence of hot flashes, vaginal bleeding, vaginal discharge, endometrial cancer, venous thromboembolic events and ischemic cerebrovascular events compared with patients receiving tamoxifen.
10-year median follow-up Safety Results from the ATAC Trial Results are consistent with the previous analyses. Serious adverse reactions were similar between anastrozole (50%) and tamoxifen (51%). Cardiovascular events were consistent with the known safety profiles of anastrozole and tamoxifen.
The cumulative incidences of all first fractures (both serious and non-serious, occurring either during or after treatment) was higher in the anastrozole group (15%) compared to the tamoxifen group (11%). This increased first fracture rate during treatment did not continue in the post-treatment follow-up period.
9%). 2%). The overall number of deaths (during or off-trial treatment) was similar between the treatment groups. There were more deaths related to breast cancer in the tamoxifen than in the anastrozole treatment group. First-Line Therapy Adverse reactions occurring with an incidence of at least 5% in either treatment group of trials 0030 and 0027 during or within 2 weeks of the end of treatment are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 — Adverse Reactions Occurring with an Incidence of at Least 5% in Trials 0030 and 0027 Body system Adverse Reaction A patient may have had more than 1 adverse event. Number (%) of subjects Anastrozole (N=506) Tamoxifen (N=511) Whole body Asthenia 83 (16) 81 (16) Pain 70 (14) 73 (14) Back pain 60 (12) 68 (13) Headache 47 (9) 40 (8) Abdominal pain 40 (8) 38 (7) Chest pain 37 (7) 37 (7) Flu syndrome 35 (7) 30 (6) Pelvic pain 23 (5) 30 (6) Cardiovascular Vasodilation 128 (25) 106 (21) Hypertension 25 (5) 36 (7) Digestive Nausea 94 (19) 106 (21) Constipation 47 (9) 66 (13) Diarrhea 40 (8) 33 (6) Vomiting 38 (8) 36 (7) Anorexia 26 (5) 46 (9) Metabolic and Nutritional Peripheral edema 51 (10) 41 (8) Musculoskeletal Bone pain 54 (11) 52 (10) Nervous Dizziness 30 (6) 22 (4) Insomnia 30 (6) 38 (7) Depression 23 (5) 32 (6) Hypertonia 16 (3) 26 (5) Respiratory Cough increased 55 (11) 52 (10) Dyspnea 51 (10) 47 (9) Pharyngitis 49 (10) 68 (13) Skin and appendages Rash 38 (8) 34 (8) Urogenital Leukorrhea 9 (2) 31 (6) Less frequent adverse experiences reported in patients receiving anastrozole 1 mg in either Trial 0030 or Trial 0027 were similar to those reported for second-line therapy.
Based on results from second-line therapy and the established safety profile of tamoxifen, the incidences of 9 pre-specified adverse event categories potentially causally related to one or both of the therapies because of their pharmacology were statistically analyzed.
No significant differences were seen between treatment groups. Table 4 — Number of Patients with Pre-specified Adverse Reactions in Trials 0030 and 0027 Number (n) and Percentage of Patients Adverse Reaction A patient may have had more than 1 adverse reaction.
Anastrozole 1 mg (N=506) n (%) NOLVADEX 20 mg (N=511) n (%) Depression 23 (5) 32 (6) Tumor Flare 15 (3) 18 (4) Thromboembolic Disease Includes pulmonary embolus, thrombophlebitis, retinal vein thrombosis. 18 (4) 33 (6) Venous 5 15 Coronary and Cerebral Includes myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia, angina pectoris, cerebrovascular accident, cerebral ischemia and cerebral infarct.
0% of the megestrol acetate-treated patients withdrawing due to an adverse reaction. The principal adverse reaction more common with anastrozole than megestrol acetate was diarrhea. Adverse reactions reported in greater than 5% of the patients in any of the treatment groups in these two controlled clinical trials, regardless of causality, are presented below: Table 5 — Number (n) and Percentage of Patients with Adverse Reactions in Trials 0004 and 0005 A patient may have had more than one adverse reaction Adverse Reaction Anastrozole Anastrozole Megesterol Acetate 1 mg 10 mg 160 mg (N=262) (N=246) (N=253) n % n % n % Asthenia 42 (16) 33 (13) 47 (19) Nausea 41 (16) 48 (20) 28 (11) Headache 34 (13) 44 (18) 24 (9) Hot Flashes 32 (12) 29 (11) 21 (8) Pain 28 (11) 38 (15) 29 (11) Back Pain 28 (11) 26 (11) 19 (8) Dyspnea 24 (9) 27 (11) 53 (21) Vomiting 24 (9) 26 (11) 16 (6) Cough Increased 22 (8) 18 (7) 19 (8) Diarrhea 22 (8) 18 (7) 7 (3) Constipation 18 (7) 18 (7) 21 (8) Abdominal Pain 18 (7) 14 (6) 18 (7) Anorexia 18 (7) 19 (8) 11 (4) Bone Pain 17 (6) 26 (12) 19 (8) Pharyngitis 16 (6) 23 (9) 15 (6) Dizziness 16 (6) 12 (5) 15 (6) Rash 15 (6) 15 (6) 19 (8) Dry Mouth 15 (6) 11 (4) 13 (5) Peripheral Edema 14 (5) 21 (9) 28 (11) Pelvic Pain 14 (5) 17 (7) 13 (5) Depression 14 (5) 6 (2) 5 (2) Chest Pain 13 (5) 18 (7) 13 (5) Paresthesia 12 (5) 15 (6) 9 (4) Vaginal Hemorrhage 6 (2) 4 (2) 13 (5) Weight Gain 4 (2) 9 (4) 30 (12) Sweating 4 (2) 3 (1) 16 (6) Increased Appetite 0 (0) 1 (0) 13 (5) Other less frequent (2% to 5%) adverse reactions reported in patients receiving anastrozole 1 mg in either Trial 0004 or Trial 0005 are listed below.
These adverse experiences are listed by body system and are in order of decreasing frequency within each body system regardless of assessed causality. 5 mmol/L among patients receiving anastrozole. Increases in LDL cholesterol have been shown to contribute to these changes.
Musculoskeletal:
Myalgia; arthralgia; pathological fracture Nervous: Somnolence; confusion; insomnia; anxiety; nervousness Respiratory: Sinusitis; bronchitis; rhinitis Skin and Appendages: Hair thinning (alopecia); pruritus Urogenital: Urinary tract infection; breast pain The incidences of the following adverse reaction groups potentially causally related to one or both of the therapies because of their pharmacology, were statistically analyzed: weight gain, edema, thromboembolic disease, gastrointestinal disturbance, hot flushes, and vaginal dryness.
These six groups, and the adverse reactions captured in the groups, were prospectively defined. The results are shown in the table below. 2 Post-Marketing Experience These adverse reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size.
Therefore, it is not always possible to estimate reliably their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.
The following have been reported in post-approval use of anastrozole:
Hepatobiliary events including increases in alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-GT, and bilirubin; hepatitis Rash including cases of mucocutaneous disorders such as erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Cases of allergic reactions including angioedema, urticaria and anaphylaxis. [see Contraindications ( 4 )] Myalgia,and hypercalcemia (with or without an increase in parathyroid hormone) Tendon disorders including tendon rupture, tendonitis, tenosynovitis, and tenosynovitis stenosans (trigger finger)