### Itraconazole

Itraconazole showed no evidence of carcinogenicity potential in mice treated orally for 23 months at dosage levels up to 80 mg/kg/day (approximately 1 time the maximum recommended human dose [MRHD] of 400 mg/day based on body surface area comparisons). Male rats treated with 25 mg/kg/day (0.6 times the MRHD based on body surface area comparisons) had a slightly increased incidence of soft tissue sarcoma. These sarcomas may have been a consequence of hypercholesterolemia, which is a response of rats, but not dogs or humans, to chronic itraconazole administration. Female rats treated with 50 mg/kg/day (1.2 times the MRHD based on body surface area comparisons) had an increased incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (2/50) as compared to the untreated group. Although the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma in the lung is extremely uncommon in untreated rats, the increase in this study was not statistically significant.

Itraconazole produced no mutagenic effects when assayed in DNA repair test (unscheduled DNA synthesis) in primary rat hepatocytes, in Ames tests with Salmonella typhimurium (6 strains) and Escherichia coli, in the mouse lymphoma gene mutation tests, in a sex-linked recessive lethal mutation ( Drosophila melanogaster) test, in chromosome aberration tests in human lymphocytes, in a cell transformation test with C3H/10T½ C18 mouse embryo fibroblasts cells, in a dominant lethal mutation test in male and female mice, and in micronucleus tests in mice and rats. 

Itraconazole did not affect the fertility of male or female rats treated orally with dosage levels of up to 40 mg/kg/day (1 time the MRHD based on body surface area comparisons), even though parental toxicity was present at this dosage level. More severe signs of parental toxicity, including death, were present in the next higher dosage level, 160 mg/kg/day (4 times the MRHD based on body surface area comparisons).

### Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD)

Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) is the solubilizing excipient used in Itraconazole Oral Solution.

Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was found to produce neoplasms in the large intestine at 5000 mg/kg/day in rat carcinogenicity study. This dose was about 3 times amount contained in the recommended clinical dose of Itraconazole Oral Solution (16 g) based on body surface area comparisons. The clinical relevance of this finding is unknown. The slightly higher incidence of adenocarcinomas in the large intestines was linked to the hypertrophic/hyperplastic and inflammatory changes in the colonic mucosa brought about by HP-β-CD-induced increased osmotic forces.

In addition, HP-β-CD was found to produce pancreatic exocrine hyperplasia and neoplasia when administered orally to rats at doses of 500, 2000 or 5000 mg/kg/day for 25 months. Adenocarcinomas of the exocrine pancreas produced in the treated animals were not seen in the untreated group and are not reported in the historical controls. The maximum recommended clinical dose of Itraconazole Oral Solution contains approximately 3.3 times the amount of HP-β-CD as was in the 500mg/kg/day dose, based on body surface area comparisons. This finding was not observed in the mouse carcinogenicity study at doses of 500, 2000 or 5000 mg/kg/day for 22–23 months. This finding was also not observed in a 12-month toxicity study in dogs or in a 2-year toxicity study in female cynomolgus monkeys.

Since the development of the pancreatic tumors may be related to a mitogenic action of cholecystokinin and since there is no evidence that cholecystokinin has a mitogenic action in man, the clinical relevance of these findings is unknown.

HP-β-CD has no antifertile effect, and is not mutagenic.