Last week there was some exciting news when National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved a new medication called Fezolinetant (also called Veoza and made by Astellas Pharma). The new drug can be used to treat moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats). It comes in tablet form and is …
Last week there was some exciting news when National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved a new medication called Fezolinetant (also called Veoza and made by Astellas Pharma). The new drug can be used to treat moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats). It comes in tablet form and is taken once a day.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) remains the first line to treat these symptoms and other symptoms of menopause. However, some women cannot have hormone replacement due to previous breast cancer, pulmonary embolism, or deep vein thrombosis. The new tablet is a non-hormonal treatment and can also be used by women not wishing to take HRT.
It is important to note that the new tablet can cause liver damage and blood test is required before treatment and regularly afterwards to monitor liver function. Other side effects include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and insomnia.
It is estimated that 500,000 women are eligible for this treatment and hopefully they can access this through NHS and improve their quality of life. I am hoping that it will help many of our breast cancer patients who because of discontinuation of HRT, hormone-blocking agents, and/or ovarian suppression, experience these symptoms and their quality of life is severely impaired.
It is not clear yet whether the treatment will be provided by the GP or a hospital specialist input is required. So for now watch this space.
