Paclitaxel

INDICATIONS AND USAGE Paclitaxel Injection, USP is indicated as subsequent therapy for the treatment of advanced carcinoma of the ovary. As first-line therapy, Paclitaxel Injection, USP is indicated in combination with cisplatin. Paclitaxel Injection, USP is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of node-positive breast cancer administered sequentially to standard doxorubicin-containing combination chemotherapy. In the clinical trial, there was an overall favorable effect on disease-free and overall survival in the total population of patients with receptor-positive and receptor-negative tumors, but the benefit has been specifically demonstrated by available data (median follow-up 30 months) only in the patients with estrogen and progesterone receptor-negative tumors ( see CLINICAL STUDIES: Breast Carcinoma ). Paclitaxel Injection, USP is indicated for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated. Paclitaxel Injection, USP, in combination with cisplatin, is indicated for the first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in patients who are not candidates for potentially curative surgery and/or radiation therapy. Paclitaxel Injection, USP is indicated for the second-line treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

DOSAGE & ADMINISTRATION NOTE: Contact of the undiluted concentrate with plasticized PVC equipment or devices used to prepare solutions for infusion is not recommended. In order to minimize patient exposure to the plasticizer DEHP [di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate], which may be leached from PVC infusion bags or sets, diluted paclitaxel solutions should be stored in bottles (glass, polypropylene) or plastic bags (polypropylene, polyolefin) and administered through polyethylene-lined administration sets. All patients should be premedicated prior to paclitaxel administration in order to prevent severe hypersensitivity reactions. Such premedication may consist of dexamethasone 20 mg PO administered approximately 12 and 6 hours before paclitaxel, diphenhydramine (or its equivalent) 50 mg I.V. 30 to 60 minutes prior to paclitaxel, and cimetidine (300 mg) or ranitidine (50 mg) I.V. 30 to 60 minutes before paclitaxel. For patients with carcinoma of the ovary the following regimen is recommended: ( see CLINICAL STUDIES: Ovarian Carcinoma ): 1) For previously untreated patients with carcinoma of the ovary, one of the following recommended regimens may be given every 3 weeks. In selecting the appropriate regimen, differences in toxicities should be considered (see Table 11 in ADVERSE REACTIONS: Disease-Specific Adverse Event Experiences ). a. Paclitaxel administered intravenously over 3 hours at a dose of 175 mg/m 2 followed by cisplatin at a dose of 75 mg/m 2 ; or b. Paclitaxel administered intravenously over 24 hours at a dose of 135 mg/m 2 followed by cisplatin at a dose of 75 mg/m 2 . 2) In patients previously treated with chemotherapy for carcinoma of the ovary, paclitaxel has been used at several doses and schedules; however, the optimal regimen is not yet clear. ( See CLINICAL STUDIES: Ovarian Carcinoma section ). The recommended regimen is paclitaxel 135 mg/m 2 or 175 mg/m 2 administered intravenously over 3 hours every 3 weeks. For patients with carcinoma of the breast, the following is recommended ( see CLINICAL STUDIES: Breast Carcinoma section ): 1) For the adjuvant treatment of node-positive breast cancer, the recommended regimen is paclitaxel, at a dose of 175 mg/m 2 intravenously over 3 hours every 3 weeks for 4 courses administered sequentially to doxorubicin-containing combination chemotherapy. The clinical trial used 4 courses of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide ( see CLINICAL STUDIES: Breast Carcinoma ). 2) After failure of initial chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy, paclitaxel at a dose of 175 mg/m 2 administered intravenously over 3 hours every 3 weeks has been shown to be effective. For patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma , the recommended regimen, given every 3 weeks, is paclitaxel administered intravenously over 24 hours at a dose of 135 mg/m 2 followed by cisplatin, 75 mg/m 2 . For patients with AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma , paclitaxel administered at a dose of 135 mg/m 2 given intravenously over 3 hours every 3 weeks or at a dose of 100 mg/m 2 given intravenously over 3 hours every 2 weeks is recommended (dose intensity 45–50 mg/m 2 /week). In the 2 clinical trials evaluating these schedules ( see CLINICAL STUDIES: AIDS-Related Kaposi’s Sarcoma ), the former schedule (135 mg/m 2 every 3 weeks) was more toxic than the latter. In addition, all patients with low performance status were treated with the latter schedule (100 mg/m 2 every 2 weeks). Based upon the immunosuppression in patients with advanced HIV disease, the following modifications are recommended in these patients: 1) Reduce the dose of dexamethasone as 1 of the 3 premedication drugs to 10 mg PO (instead of 20 mg PO); 2) Initiate or repeat treatment with paclitaxel only if the neutrophil count is at least 1,000 cells/mm 3 ; 3) Reduce the dose of subsequent courses of paclitaxel by 20% for patients who experience severe neutropenia (neutrophil <500 cells/mm 3 for a week or longer); and4) Initiate …

CONTRAINDICATIONS Paclitaxel Injection, USP is contraindicated in patients who have a history of hypersensitivity reactions to paclitaxel or other drugs formulated in Polyoxyl 35 Castor Oil, NF. Paclitaxel Injection, USP should not be used in patients with solid tumors who have baseline neutrophil counts of <1,500 cells/mm 3 or in patients with AIDS-related kaposi’s sarcoma with baseline neutrophil counts of <1,000 cells/mm 3 .

ADVERSE REACTIONS Pooled Analysis of Adverse Event Experiences from Single-Agent Studies: Data in the following table are based on the experience of 812 patients (493 with ovarian carcinoma and 319 with breast carcinoma) enrolled in 10 studies who received single-agent Paclitaxel Injection, USP. Two hundred and seventy-five patients were treated in eight Phase 2 studies with paclitaxel doses ranging from 135 to 300 mg/m 2 administered over 24 hours (in four of these studies, G-CSF was administered as hematopoietic support). Three hundred and one patients were treated in the randomized Phase 3 ovarian carcinoma study which compared two doses (135 or 175 mg/m 2 ) and two schedules (3 or 24 hours) of paclitaxel. Two hundred and thirty-six patients with breast carcinoma received paclitaxel (135 or 175 mg/m 2 ) administered over 3 hours in a controlled study. Table 10. Summary a of Adverse Events in Patients with Solid Tumors Receiving Single-Agent Paclitaxel Percent of Patients (n=812) • Bone Marrow - Neutropenia <2,000/mm 3 <500/mm 3 - Leukopenia <4,000/mm 3 <1,000/mm 3 - Thrombocytopenia <100,000/mm 3 <50,000 /mm 3 - Anemia <11 g/dL <8 g/dL - Infections - Bleeding - Red Cell Transfusions - Platelet Transfusions 90 52 90 17 20 7 78 16 30 14 25 2 • Hypersensitivity Reaction b - All - Severe † 41 2 • Cardiovascular - Vital Sign Changes c - Bradycardia (n=537) - Hypotension (n=532) - Significant Cardio vascular Events 3 12 1 • Abnormal ECG - All Pts - Pts with normal baseline (n=559 ) 23 14 • Peripheral Neuropathy - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 60 3 • Myalgia/Arthralgia - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 60 8 • Gastrointestinal - Nausea and vomiting - Diarrhea - Mucositis 52 38 31 • Alopecia 87 • Hepatic (Pts with normal baseline and on study data) - Bilirubin elevations (n=765) - Alkaline phosphatase elevations (n=575) - AST (SGOT) elevations (n=591) 7 22 19 • Injection Site Reaction 13 a Based on worst course analysis. b All patients received premedication. c During the first 3 hours of infusion. † Severe events are defined as at least Grade III toxicity. None of the observed toxicities were clearly influenced by age. Disease-Specific Adverse Event Experiences First-Line Ovary in Combination: For the 1084 patients who were evaluable for safety in the Phase 3 first-line ovary combination therapy studies, Table 11 shows the incidence of important adverse events. For both studies, the analysis of safety was based on all courses of therapy (6 courses for the GOG-111 study and up to 9 courses for the Intergroup study). Table 11. Frequency a of Important Adverse Events in the Phase 3 First-Line Ovarian Carcinoma Studies Percent of Patients Intergroup GOG-111 T175/3 b c75 c (n=339) C750 c c75 c (n=336) T135/24 b c75 c (n=196) C750 c c75 c (n=213) • Bone Marrow - Neutropenia <2,000/mm 3 <500/mm 3 - Thrombocytopenia <100,000/mm 3e <50,000/mm 3 - Anemia <11 g/dL f <8 g/dL - Infections - Febrile Neutropenia 91 d 33 d 21 d 3 d 96 3 d 25 4 95 d 43 d 33 d 7 d 97 8 d 27 7 96 81 d 26 10 88 13 21 15 d 92 58 d 30 9 86 9 15 4 d • Hypersensitivity Reaction - All - Severe † 11 d 1 6 d 1 8 d,g 3 d,g 1 d,g – d,g • Neurotoxicity h - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 87 d 21 d 52 d 2 d 25 3 d 20 – d • Nausea and Vomiting - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 88 18 93 24 65 10 69 11 • Myalgia/Arthralgia - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 60 d 6 d 27 d 1 d 9 d 1 2 d – • Diarrhea - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 37 d 2 29 d 3 16 d 4 8 d 1 • Asthenia - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † NC NC NC NC 17 d 1 10 d 1 • Alopecia - Any symptoms - Severe symptoms † 96 d 51 d 89 d 21 d 55 d 6 37 d 8 a Based on worst course analysis. b Paclitaxel (T) dose in mg/m 2 /infusion duration in hours. c Cyclophosphamide (C) or cisplatin (c) dose in mg/m 2 . d p<0.05 by Fisher exact test. e <130,000/mm 3 in the Intergroup study. f <12 g/dL in the Intergroup study. g All patients received premedication. h In the GOG-111 study, neurotoxicity was collected as peripheral neuropathy …

Drug Interactions: In a Phase I trial using escalating doses of paclitaxel (110 to 200 mg/m 2 ) and cisplatin (50 or 75 mg/m 2 ) given as sequential infusions, myelosuppression was more profound when paclitaxel was given after cisplatin than with the alternate sequence (i.e., paclitaxel before cisplatin). Pharmacokinetic data from these patients demonstrated a decrease in paclitaxel clearance of approximately 33% when paclitaxel was administered following cisplatin. The metabolism of paclitaxel is catalyzed by cytochrome P450 isoenzymes CYP2C8 and CYP3A4. In the absence of formal clinical drug interaction studies, caution should be exercised when administering paclitaxel concomitantly with known substrates or inhibitors of the cytochrome P450 isoenzymes CYP2C8 and CYP3A4. Caution should be exercised when paclitaxel is concomitantly administered with known substrates (e.g., midazolam, buspirone, felodipine, lovastatin, eletriptan, sildenafil, simvastatin, and triazolam), inhibitors (e.g., atazanavir, clarithromycin, indinavir, itraconazole, ketoconazole, nefazodone, nelfinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, and telithromycin), and inducers (e.g., rifampin and carbamazepine) of CYP3A4. (See CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY section.) Caution should also be exercised when paclitaxel is concomitantly administered with known substrates (e.g., repaglinide and rosiglitazone), inhibitors (e.g., gemfibrozil), and inducers (e.g., rifampin) of CYP2C8. (See CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY . ) Potential interactions between paclitaxel, a substrate of CYP3A4, and protease inhibitors (ritonavir, saquinavir, indinavir, and nelfinavir), which are substrates and/or inhibitors of CYP3A4, have not been evaluated in clinical trials. Reports in the literature suggest that plasma levels of doxorubicin (and its active metabolite doxorubicinol) may be increased when paclitaxel and doxorubicin are used in combination. Hematology: Paclitaxel therapy should not be administered to patients with baseline neutrophil counts of less than 1,500 cells/mm 3 . In order to monitor the occurrence of myelotoxicity, it is recommended that frequent peripheral blood cell counts be performed on all patients receiving paclitaxel. Patients should not be retreated with subsequent cycles of paclitaxel until neutrophils recover to a level >1,500 cells/mm 3 and platelets recover to a level >100,000 cells/mm 3 . In the case of severe neutropenia (2 times ULN (See CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY ). Extreme caution should be exercised when administering Paclitaxel to such patients, with dose reduction as recommended in DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION , TABLE 17 . Injection Site Reaction: Injection site reactions, including reactions secondary to extravasation, were usually mild and consisted of erythema, tenderness, skin discoloration, or swelling at the injection site. These reactions have been observed more frequently with the 24-hour infusion than with the 3-hour infusion. Recurrence of skin reactions at a site of previous extravasation following administration of paclitaxel at a different site, i.e., “recall”, has been reported. More severe events such as phlebitis, cellulitis, induration, skin exfoliation, necrosis, and fibrosis have been reported. In some cases the onset of the injection site reaction either occurred during a prolonged infusion or was delayed by a week to ten days. A specific treatment for extravasation reactions is unknown at this time. Given the possibility of extravasation, it is advisable to closely monitor the infusion site for possible infiltration during drug administration.

DESCRIPTION Paclitaxel Injection, USP is a clear colorless to slightly yellow viscous solution. It is supplied as a nonaqueous solution intended for dilution with a suitable parenteral fluid prior to intravenous infusion. Paclitaxel is available in 30 mg (5 mL), 100 mg (16.7 mL), and 300 mg (50 mL) multiple-dose vials. Each mL of sterile nonpyrogenic solution contains 6 mg paclitaxel, 527 mg of Polyoxyl 35 Castor Oil, NF, 49.7% (v/v) Dehydrated Alcohol, USP and 2 mg Citric Acid, USP. Paclitaxel is a natural product with antitumor activity. Paclitaxel is obtained via an extraction process from Taxus X media ‘Hicksii’. The chemical name for paclitaxel is (2a R ,4 S ,4a S ,6 R ,9 S ,11 S ,12 S ,12a R ,12b S )-1,2a,3,4,4a,6,9,10,11,12,12a,12b-Dodecahydro-4,6,9,11,12,-12b-hexahydroxy-4a,8,13,13-tetramethyl-7,11-methano-5 H -cyclodeca [3,4] benz [1,2-b] oxet-5-one 6,12b-diacetate, 12-benzoate, 9-ester with (2 R ,3 S )- N -benzoyl-3-phenylisoserine. Paclitaxel has the following structural formula: Paclitaxel is a white to off-white crystalline powder with the empirical formula C 47 H 51 NO 14 and a molecular weight of 853.9. It is highly lipophilic, insoluble in water, and melts at around 216-217°C. Paclitaxel Structural Formula

OVERDOSAGE There is no known antidote for paclitaxel overdosage. The primary anticipated complications of overdosage would consist of bone marrow suppression, peripheral neurotoxicity, and mucositis. Overdoses in pediatric patients may be associated with acute ethanol toxicity ( see PRECAUTIONS: Pediatric Use section ).

HOW SUPPLIED Paclitaxel Injection, USP (6 mg/mL) is supplied in the following: Unit of Sale Concentration *Partial fill (5 mL) volume in a 10 mL container. NDC 61703-342-09 Carton containing 1 multiple-dose vial 30 mg/5 mL (6 mg/mL) NDC 61703-015-04 Carton containing 1 multiple-dose vial 30 mg/5 mL* (6 mg/mL) NDC 61703-342-22 Carton containing 1 multiple-dose vial 100 mg/16.7 mL (6 mg/mL) NDC 61703-342-50 Carton containing 1 multiple-dose vial 300 mg/50 mL (6 mg/mL) Storage: Store the vials in original cartons between 20° to 25°C (68° to 77°F). [See USP Controlled Room Temperature.] Retain in the original package to protect from light. Handling and Disposal: See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: Preparation and Administration Precautions .