JAVLOR Concentrate for solution for infusion Ref.[9073] Active ingredients: Vinflunine

Hematological toxicity

Neutropenia, leucopenia, anaemia and thrombocytopenia are frequent adverse reactions of vinflunine. Adequate monitoring of complete blood counts should be conducted to verify the ANC, platelet and haemoglobin values before each vinflunine infusion (see section 4.3). Initiation of vinflunine is contraindicated in subjects with baseline ANC <1,500/mm³ or platelets <100,000/mm³. For subsequent administrations, vinflunine is contraindicated in subjects with baseline ANC <1,000/mm³ or platelets <100,000/mm³.

The recommended dose should be reduced in patients with haematological toxicity (see section 4.2).

Gastrointestinal disorders

Grade ≥ 3 constipation occurred in 15.3% of treated patients. NCI CTC Grade 3 constipation is defined as an obstipation requiring manual evacuation or enema, Grade 4 constipation as an obstruction or toxic megacolon. Constipation is reversible and can be prevented by special dietary measures such as oral hydration and fibre intake, and by administration of laxatives such as stimulant laxatives or faecal softners from day 1 to day 5 or 7 of the treatment cycle. Patients at high risk of constipation (concomitant treatment with opiates, peritoneal carcinomas, abdominal masses, prior major abdominal surgery) should be medicated with an osmotic laxative from day 1 to day 7 administered once a day in the morning before breakfast.

In case of Grade 2 constipation, defined as requiring laxatives, for 5 days or more or Grade ≥ 3 of any duration, the dose of vinflunine should be adjusted (see section 4.2). In case of any Grade ≥ 3 gastrointestinal toxicity (except vomiting or nausea) or of mucositis (Grade 2 for 5 days or more or Grade ≥ 3 of any duration) dose adjustment is required. Grade 2 is defined as “moderate”, Grade 3 as “severe” and Grade 4 as “life-threatening” (see Table 2 in section 4.2).

Cardiac disorders

Few QT interval prolongations have been observed after the administration of vinflunine. This effect may lead to an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias although no ventricular arrhythmias were observed with vinflunine. Nevertheless, vinflunine should be used with caution in patients with increase of the proarrhythmic risk (e.g. congestive heart failure, known history of QT interval prolongation, hypokalaemia) (see section 4.8). The concomittant use of two or more QT/QTc interval prolonging substances is not recommended (see section 4.5).

Special attention is recommended when vinflunine is administered to patients with prior history of myocardial infarction/ischaemia or angina pectoris (see section 4.8). Ischaemic cardiac events may occur, especially in patients who have underlying cardiac disease. Thus, patients receiving Javlor should be vigilantly monitored by physicians for the occurrence of cardiac events. Caution should be exercised in patients with a history of cardiac disease and the benefit / risk assessment should be carefully evaluated regularly. Discontinuation of vinflunine should be considered in patients who develop cardiac ischaemia.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES)

Cases of PRES have been observed after administration of vinflunine.

The typical clinical symptoms are, with various degrees: neurological (headache, confusion, seizure, visual disorders), systemic (hypertension), and gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting). Radiological signs are white matter abnormalities in the posterior regions of the brain. Blood pressure should be controlled in patients developing symptoms of PRES. To confirm the diagnosis, brain imaging is recommended.

Clinical and radiological features usually resolved rapidly without sequelae after treatment discontinuation.

Discontinuation of vinflunine should be considered in patients who develop neurological signs of PRES (see section 4.8).

Hyponatraemia

Severe hyponatraemia, including cases due to syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), has been observed with the use of vinflunine (see section 4.8). Therefore, regular monitoring of serum sodium levels is recommended during treatment with vinflunine.

Hepatic impairment

The recommended dose should be reduced in patients with hepatic impairment (see section 4.2).

Renal impairment

The recommended dose should be reduced in patients with moderate or severe renal impairment (see section 4.2).

Elderly patients (≥75 years)

The recommended dose should be reduced in patients 75 years old and beyond (see section 4.2).

Interactions

The concomitant use of potent inhibitors or potent inducers of CYP3A4 with vinflunine should be avoided (see section 4.5).

Administration

Intrathecal administration of Javlor may be fatal.

When infused through a peripheral vein, vinflunine can induce Grade 1 (22% of the patients, 14.1% of the cycles), Grade 2 (11.0% of the patients, 6.8% of the cycles) or Grade 3 (0.8% of the patients, 0.2% of the cycles) venous irritation. All cases resolved rapidly without treatment discontinuation. Instructions for administration should be followed as described in section 6.6.

Contraception

Men and women with reproductive potential must use an effective method of contraception during the treatment and up to 3 months after the last vinflunine administration (see section 4.6).

In vitro studies showed that vinflunine had neither inducing effects on CYP1A2, CYP2B6 or CYP3A4 activity nor inhibition effects on CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4.

In vitro studies showed that vinflunine is a Pgp-substrate like other vinca alkaloids, but with a lower affinity. Therefore, risks of clinically significant interactions should be unlikely.

No pharmacokinetic interaction was observed in patients when vinflunine was combined with either cisplatin, carboplatin, capecitabine or gemcitabine.

No pharmacokinetic interaction was observed in patients when vinflunine was combined with doxorubicin. However, this combination was associated with a particularly high risk of haematological toxicity.

A phase I study evaluating the effect of ketoconazole treatment (a potent CYP3A4 inhibitor) on vinflunine pharmacokinetics indicated that co-administration of ketoconazole (400 mg orally once daily for 8 days) resulted in a 30% and 50% increase in blood exposures to vinflunine and its metabolite 4Odeacetyl-vinflunine (DVFL), respectively.

Therefore the concomitant use of vinflunine and potent CYP3A4 inhibitors (such as ritonavir, ketoconazole, itraconazole and grapefruit juice) or inducers (such as rifampicin and Hypericum perforatum (St John’s wort)) should be avoided since they may increase or decrease vinflunine and DVFL concentrations (see section 4.4 and 5.2).

The concomitant use of vinflunine with others QT/QTc interval prolonging medicinal products should be avoided (see section 4.4).

A pharmacokinetic interaction between vinflunine and pegylated/liposomal doxorubicin was observed, resulting in a 15% to 30% apparent increase in vinflunine exposure and a 2 to 3-fold apparent decrease of doxorubicin AUC, whereas for doxorubicinol, the concentrations of the metabolite were not affected. According to an in vitro study, such changes could be related to adsorption of vinflunine on the liposomes and a modified blood distribution of both compounds. Therefore, caution should be excercised when this type of combination is used.

A possible interaction with paclitaxel and docetaxel (CYP3 substrates) has been suggested from an in vitro study (slight inhibition of vinflunine metabolism). No specific clinical studies of vinflunine in combination with these compounds have been carried out yet.

The concomitant use of opioids could enhance the risk of constipation.

Contraception in males and females

Both male and female patients should take adequate contraceptive measures up to three months after the discontinuation of the therapy.

Pregnancy

There are no data available on the use of vinflunine in pregnant women. Studies in animals have shown embryotoxicity and teratogenicity (see section 5.3). On the basis of the results of animal studies and the pharmacological action of the medicinal product, there is a potential risk of embryonic and foetal abnormalities.

Vinflunine should therefore not be used during pregnancy, unless it is strictly necessary. If pregnancy occurs during treatment, the patient should be informed about the risk for the unborn child and be monitored carefully. The possibility of genetic counselling should be considered. Genetic counselling is also recommended for patients wishing to have children after therapy.

Breast-feeding

It is unknown whether vinflunine or its metabolites are excreted in human milk. Due to the possible very harmful effects on the infants, breast-feeding during treatment with vinflunine is contraindicated (see section 4.3).

Fertility

Advice on conservation of sperm should be sought prior to treatment because of the possibility of irreversible infertility due to therapy with vinflunine.

Javlor may cause adverse reactions such as fatigue (very common) and dizziness (common) which may lead to a minor or moderate influence on the ability to drive and use machines. Patients should be advised not to drive or use machines if they experience any adverse reaction with a potential impact on the ability to perform these activities (see section 4.8).

Summary of the safety profile

The most frequent treatment-related adverse reactions reported in the two phase II and one phase III trials in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium (450 patients treated with vinflunine) were haematological disorders, mainly neutropenia and anaemia; gastrointestinal disorders, especially constipation, anorexia, nausea, stomatitis/mucositis, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, and general disorders such as asthenia/fatigue.

Tabulated list of adverse reactions

Adverse reactions are listed below by System Organ Class, frequency and grade of severity (NCI CTC version 2.0). Frequency of adverse reactions is defined using the following convention: very common (≥1/10); common (≥1/100 to <1/10); uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100); rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000); very rare (<1/10,000); not known (cannot be estimated from available data). Within each frequency grouping, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.

Table 4. Adverse reactions observed in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium treated with vinflunine:

^a adverse reactions reported from post-marketing experience
^b frequency calculated on the basis of non-TCCU clinical trial

Adverse reactions in all indications

Adverse reactions occurring in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium and in patients with other disease than this indication and potentially severe or adverse reactions that are a class effect of the vinca alkaloids are described below.

Blood and lymphatic system disorders

Grade ¾ neutropenia was observed in 43.8% of patients. Severe anaemia and thrombocytopenia were less common (respectively 8.8 and 3.1%). Febrile neutropenia defined as ANC <1,000/mm³ and fever ≥38.5°C of unknown origin without clinically microbiologically documented infection (NCI CTC version 2.0) was observed in 5.2% of patients. Infection with Grade ¾ neutropenia was observed in 2.8% of patients.

Overall 8 patients (0.6% of the treated population) died from infection as a complication occurring during neutropenia.

Gastrointestinal disorders

Constipation is a class effect of the vinca alkaloids: 11.8% of patients experienced severe constipation during treatment with vinflunine. Grade ¾ ileus reported in 1.9% of patients was reversible when managed by medical care. Constipation is managed by medical care (see section 4.4).

Nervous system disorders

Sensory peripheral neuropathy is a class effect of the vinca alkaloids. Grade 3 was experienced by 0.6% patients. All resolved during the study. Rare cases of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome have been reported (see section 4.4).

Cardiovascular disorders

Cardiac effects are a known class effect of the vinca alkaloids. Myocardial infarction or ischaemia were experienced by 0.5% of the patients and most of them had a pre-existing cardiovascular disease or risk factors. One patient died after myocardial infarction and another one due to a cardiopulmonary arrest.

Few QT interval prolongations have been observed after the administration of vinflunine.

Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders

Dyspnoea occurred in 3.2% of the patients but was rarely severe (Grade 3/4: 1.2%). Bronchospam was reported in one patient treated with vinflunine for a different setting from the indication.

Reporting of suspected adverse reactions

Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the national reporting system listed in Appendix V.

This medicinal product must not be mixed with other medicinal products except those mentioned in section 6.6.