Femara (letrozole)
Contents
Generic
Side effects
Off-label use for infertility
Uses
Cost
Pregnancy
Birth control needs
Breastfeeding
Dosage
FAQs
Alternatives
How it works
How to take
Femara and alcohol
Interactions
Precautions
Overdose
Expiration
What is Femara?
Femara is a brand-name prescription drug that | s approved to treat breast cancer in females* who | ve gone through menopause.
Femara is approved to treat breast cancer that | s hormone receptor-positive (HR+). This type of breast cancer is stimulated to grow by hormones, including estrogen. Femara can also be used to treat certain types of breast cancer whose hormone receptor status isn | t known.
Femara is prescribed for females with certain forms of either early or advanced breast cancer. With early breast cancer, the cancer hasn | t spread out of either your breast or the lymph nodes in your armpit. But with advanced breast cancer, the cancer has spread to nearby areas or lymph nodes (called locally advanced breast cancer), or it has spread to other parts of the body (called metastatic breast cancer).
Femara is used in the following ways for early HR+ breast cancer:
Adjuvant treatment. For this use, Femara is given to help lower the risk of the breast cancer coming back after it | s been treated with surgery.
Extended adjuvant treatment. For this use, Femara is given to help lower the risk of the breast cancer coming back after it | s been treated with both surgery and 5 years of tamoxifen (another cancer drug).
Femara is used in the following ways for advanced breast cancer that | s either HR+ or whose hormone receptor status isn | t known:
First-line treatment. With first-line treatment, Femara is the first drug given to treat the advanced breast cancer.
Second-line treatment. With second-line treatment, Femara is given to treat the advanced breast cancer after certain past therapy hasn | t worked. For this use, Femara can treat advanced breast cancer that has come back or spread after other treatments.
* Sex and gender exist on spectrums. Use of the term “female” in this article refers to sex assigned at birth.
Drug details
Femara contains the drug letrozole. It | s a hormone therapy for breast cancer. These types of therapies stop estrogen from encouraging breast cancer cells to grow. More specifically, Femara is a type of hormone therapy called an aromatase inhibitor. It works by lowering the amount of estrogen your body makes.
Femara comes as tablets that are taken by mouth. It | s available in one strength: 2.5 mg.
Effectiveness for breast cancer
For information on the effectiveness of Femara, see the “Femara uses” section below.
Off-label use for infertility
Femara is also used off-label to treat infertility. Off-label use is when a drug that | s approved to treat one condition is used to treat another condition. For more information about this use of Femara, see the section “Off-label use of Femara for infertility” below.
Femara generic
Femara tablets contain the active drug letrozole. Generic forms of Femara are available.
A generic drug is an exact copy of a brand-name medication. The generic is considered to be as safe and effective as the original drug. And generics tend to cost less than brand-name drugs.
Femara side effects
Femara can cause mild or serious side effects. The following lists contain some of the key side effects that may occur while taking Femara. These lists do not include all possible side effects.
For more information on the possible side effects of Femara, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. They can give you tips on how to deal with any side effects that may be bothersome.
Note: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tracks side effects of drugs they have approved. If you would like to report to the FDA a side effect you | ve had with Femara, you can do so through MedWatch.
Mild side effects
The mild side effects of Femara that are more common* can include:
hot flashes
flushed skin
increased sweating
joint pain
weakness
edema (swelling), possibly in your ankles or feet
headache
dizziness
bone pain
The mild side effects of Femara that are less common** can include:
fatigue
nausea
vaginal bleeding or spotting
changes in your mood
* Occurred in more than 20% of people in clinical studies
** Occurred in 20% or less of people in clinical studies
Most of these side effects may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. But if they become more severe or don | t go away, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Serious side effects
Serious side effects from Femara aren | t common, but they can occur. Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life threatening or if you think you | re having a medical emergency.
Serious side effects, which are explained in more detail below in “Side effect details,” include:
reduced bone mineral density (weakened bones)
increased cholesterol level
severe allergic reaction
Side effect details
You may wonder how often certain side effects occur with this drug. Here | s some detail on several of the side effects this drug cause.
Reduced bone mineral density
Femara may cause reduced bone mineral density (weakened bones) in some people. Femara, which works by lowering your estrogen level, is prescribed for females* who | ve gone through menopause.
Estrogen helps to keep your bones strong. But after menopause, your estrogen levels fall, which can weaken your bones. And because Femara also lowers your estrogen level, the drug can add to this effect. This increases your risk of breaking a bone during Femara treatment.
To find out how often this side effect occurred in clinical studies, see the drug | s prescribing information. If you have questions or concerns about this potential side effect, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
If you | re taking Femara, your doctor may want to measure your bone mineral density. This allows them to monitor how strong your bones are. If your bones become weak during treatment, your doctor may prescribe medication for you to help strengthen your bones.
There are also some things you can do to help minimize loss of bone strength while you | re taking Femara. If you have questions about how Femara may affect your bone density, talk with your doctor.
* Sex and gender exist on spectrums. Use of the term “female” in this article refers to sex assigned at birth.
Allergic reaction
As with most drugs, some people can have an allergic reaction after taking Femara. But it | s not known how often this occurs in people using Femara.
Symptoms of a mild allergic reaction can include:
skin rash
itchiness
flushing (warmth and redness in your skin)
A more severe allergic reaction is rare but possible. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction can include:
swelling under your skin, typically in your eyelids, lips, hands, or feet
swelling of your tongue, mouth, or throat
trouble breathing
Call your doctor right away if you have a severe allergic reaction to Femara. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life threatening or if you think you | re having a medical emergency.
Fatigue or dizziness
For some people, Femara may cause fatigue or dizziness. To find out how often these side effects occurred in clinical studies, see the drug | s prescribing information. If you have questions or concerns about these potential side effects, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
If you have fatigue or dizziness while you | re taking Femara, don | t drive or operate other machines. You shouldn | t drive or operate machinery until you know how the drug will affect you. And talk with your doctor about ways to help improve your energy level during treatment.
Weight gain or weight loss
Your body weight may change while you | re taking Femara. During clinical studies, both weight gain and weight loss were reported in people who took Femara for breast cancer treatment.
Both cancer and cancer treatments can often cause changes in appetite and body weight. If you have questions or concerns about changes in your weight, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Side effects after stopping Femara
Stopping Femara treatment isn | t known to cause side effects. And this medication doesn | t need to be stopped gradually.
In certain situations, if Femara has stopped working for you, your doctor might ask you to stop taking the drug in order to cause a “withdrawal response.” This response is a hormonal shift that | s caused by stopping Femara.
In this case, stopping Femara can sometimes improve your breast cancer, rather than causing side effects. However, this particular treatment approach isn | t right for everyone.
If your doctor thinks Femara has stopped working for you, talk with them about whether stopping treatment could be beneficial for you.
letrozole 2.5 mg twice a day for pregnancy side effects?
