US FDA approves AstraZeneca’s new breast cancer pill Etcamah: Dosage, high risk and side effects — All you need to know
The drug, known as camizestrant, can be used in combination with other cancer medicines in patients who have a genetically driven form of metastatic breast cancer. AstraZeneca said camizestrant, which will go by the brand name ETCAMAH.
On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved AstraZeneca Plc's breast cancer pill, ETCAMAH®, expanding treatment options for adult patients with advanced breast cancer. The drug, also known as camizestrant, is used in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors such as palbociclib, ribociclib, or abemaciclib. ETCAMAH works by stopping estrogen from stimulating cancer cells, thus preventing their growth.
The drug is approved for use in patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, as well as those with a specific mutation that develops during endocrine therapy treatment.
The dosage of ETCAMAH is 75 mg taken orally once daily, and it can only be prescribed by a doctor experienced in cancer medicine treatment. The drug's approval was based on the SERENA-6 Phase III trial results, which showed a 56% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death in patients with an emergent ESR1 tumor mutation.
However, ETCAMAH poses a high risk for pregnant women as it can cause fetal harm. Women and females of reproductive potential should be advised of this risk and advised not to breastfeed during treatment with ETCAMAH, as well as for one week after the last dose. Some common side effects include neutropenia, visual effects, infections, diarrhea, nausea, anaemia, tiredness, bradycardia, and leucopenia. Among these, visual effects and bradycardia are specifically associated with ETCAMAH.
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