Cancer Channel
Topics
Medications
Quicklinks
Related Channels
Letrozole
Letrozole is approved to treat postmenopausal women with certain forms of breast cancer. Among the types of breast cancer that can be treated with this medicine are early breast cancer that is hormone receptor-positive and advanced breast cancer that is either hormone receptor-positive or for which the hormone receptor is unknown. Side effects can include hot flashes, weakness, and joint pain.
Letrozole (Femara®) is a prescription medication used to treat breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Specifically, the drug has been licensed to treat postmenopausal women who:
- Have early breast cancer that is hormone receptor-positive and who have had surgery
- Have taken tamoxifen (Nolvadex®, Soltamox™) for five years after surgery or radiation therapy for breast cancer
- Have advanced or metastatic (spreading) breast cancer that is either hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-unknown.
(Click What Is Letrozole Used For? for more information, including possible off-label uses.)
As with any medicine, side effects are possible with letrozole. However, not everyone who takes the drug will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can easily be treated by you or your healthcare provider. Serious side effects are less common.
Common side effects seen with letrozole include but are not limited to:
- Hot flashes
- Joint pain
- Night sweats
- Weight gain (see Femara and Weight Gain)
- Weakness.
(Click Side Effects of Letrozole to learn more, including potentially serious side effects you should report immediately to your healthcare provider.)
The following eMedTV articles describe specific side effects of letrozole:
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD