Q: My wife is 26 years old. We got married early this year. We are planning to have a baby. We consulted a Gynaecologist as my wife was getting regular periods even after 6 months. The doctor prescribed my wife Letroz tablets (10 tablets, 2 each to be taken at night for 5 consecutive days from the 3rd day of the period). She has already taken 6 tablets and just today I read an archived answer on the DoctorNDTV website which mentions that Letroz is an anticancer tablet and it may lead to some problems during pregnancy. I have not told this to my wife. Her weight is 84 Kgs. We are eagerly waiting for her to conceive. Kindly let me know what is the actual use of this medicine tablets and will it help in fertility improvement?

A:Six months is not too long a period for conception. One should wait for about a year particularly at a young age before getting anxious. Obesity is one important cause of sub-fertility and hence should be tackled first. There is both scientific and legal prohibition in using Letroz in young women. It is an anti-cancer drug to be used ONLY in old, post-menopausal women with advanced breast cancer. It is not permitted to be given to young pre-menopausal women for any reason what so ever. Furthermore, gynaecologists are legally barred from using Letroz. As per law, it can be prescribed only by cancer specialists. If you look at the catch-cover/strip of Letroz, you would find such a warning. Hence if any gynaecologist prescribes Letroz, he/she is breaking the law and can be prosecuted under Consumer Protection Act for putting patients at risk. The manufacturer of Letroz was found to be involved in illegal, unethical and dangerous activity of inducing (both by misinformation and incentives) gynaecologists to prescribe its brand to increase sales. The Drugs Controller General, India (DCGI) issued a warning to the company to desist from such illegal activity. Letrozole is the research product of Novartis. Indian companies have merely copied the medicine. Both, the Canadian government drug regulator and the innovator company Novartis, have warned gynaecologists all over the world not to misuse it for female infertility. Recent research on 150 letrozole-related pregnancies has shown that babies born to such mothers have suffered from bone malformations, heart defects and cancer.