Reported Reactions

Drugs

Product name as reported

Actinomycin D: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,242 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026.

1,242
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 56 a year
80
reports, 12 months to June 2026
85 in the 12 months before
99.4%
marked serious by the reporter
57.4% across all reports
20.2%
record death among outcomes, as reported
251 reports · not verified by FDA

1,242 adverse event reports received by FDA list the product name "Actinomycin D" as reporters wrote it as a suspect or interacting product, from April 2004 to June 2026. A further 166 reports list it only as a concomitant medication, and those are not counted in the figures on this page.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 80 reports listed it, close to the 85 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Over its reporting history that is about 56 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

The reactions recorded most often are off label use (13.8%), neutropenia (7.9%) and disease progression (7.2%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 298 different terms appear across these reports. Off label use is recorded in 13.8% of these reports, against 4.1% of all reports in the database.

99.4% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter; 20.2% record death among the outcomes and 19.3% record hospitalisation, as reported. 58.9% of the reports came from other health professionals, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (21.3%). FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

Reports by month, five years

0918Jul 2021: 5Aug 2021: 6Sep 2021: 6Oct 2021: 7Nov 2021: 8Dec 2021: 162022Jan 2022: 5Feb 2022: 2Mar 2022: 7Apr 2022: 2May 2022: 3Jun 2022: 7Jul 2022: 5Aug 2022: 8Sep 2022: 12Oct 2022: 0Nov 2022: 11Dec 2022: 182023Jan 2023: 2Feb 2023: 11Mar 2023: 7Apr 2023: 13May 2023: 11Jun 2023: 12Jul 2023: 4Aug 2023: 1Sep 2023: 5Oct 2023: 9Nov 2023: 1Dec 2023: 32024Jan 2024: 5Feb 2024: 8Mar 2024: 4Apr 2024: 5May 2024: 0Jun 2024: 11Jul 2024: 17Aug 2024: 6Sep 2024: 3Oct 2024: 5Nov 2024: 9Dec 2024: 92025Jan 2025: 8Feb 2025: 1Mar 2025: 5Apr 2025: 4May 2025: 3Jun 2025: 15Jul 2025: 5Aug 2025: 11Sep 2025: 9Oct 2025: 11Nov 2025: 7Dec 2025: 132026Jan 2026: 0Feb 2026: 5Mar 2026: 4Apr 2026: 7May 2026: 4Jun 2026: 4

Reports by the month FDA received them. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

By year received

0651302004: 120042005: 42009: 1520092010: 152011: 1220112012: 232013: 4320132014: 1302015: 7920152016: 692017: 12420172018: 932019: 6620192020: 1032021: 10820212022: 802023: 7920232024: 822025: 9220252026: 24

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Actinomycin D reports recording the termall reports in the database

  1. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label13.8%171
  2. Neutropenialow neutrophils, a type of white blood cell7.9%98
  3. Disease progressionthe disease advanced7.2%90
  4. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected7.2%89
  5. Febrile neutropeniafever with low white blood cells6.7%83
  6. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label6.6%82
  7. Disease recurrencethe disease came back4.7%58
  8. Vomitingbeing sick3.4%42
  9. Anaemialow red blood cells3.2%40
  10. Thrombocytopenialow platelets3.2%40
  11. Venoocclusive liver disease3%37
  12. Ovarian failure2.6%32
  13. Sepsisa severe body-wide response to infection2.5%31
  14. Ascitesfluid in the abdomen2.4%30
  15. Nauseafeeling sick2.3%28
  16. Desmoplastic small round cell tumour1.7%21
  17. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances1.7%21
  18. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term1.6%20
  19. Treatment failurethe treatment did not work1.6%20

Top 30 of 298 MedDRA preferred terms recorded across these reports, with a plain-language gloss where one is available. One report can record several terms. The hollow bar is the share of all reports in the database; it describes the reports, not the patients. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Outcomes recorded

Death20.2%251
Life-threatening6.4%80
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)19.3%240
Disability2.1%26
Congenital anomaly0.9%11
Other serious79.4%986
Not serious0.6%7

Outcome flags as the reporter set them; a report can carry several, and "other serious" is FDA's own category for serious reports outside the named outcomes. Grey bar: all 20,646,523 reports. FDA has not verified any outcome and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Patients and reporters

Patient age

Under 25.6%70
2 to 1117.1%212
12 to 1711.5%143
18 to 4421.3%265
45 to 644.7%58
65 to 740.7%9
75 and over0%0
Age not given39%485

Patient sex

Female57.1%709
Male26.9%334
Not given16%199

Who reported

Physician38%472
Pharmacist0.9%11
Other health professional58.9%732
Lawyer0%0
Consumer or non-health professional0.6%8
Not given1.5%19

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 12.9% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Gestational trophoblastic tumour21217.1%
Ewing's sarcoma1189.5%
Nephroblastoma1028.2%
Choriocarcinoma947.6%
Rhabdomyosarcoma786.3%
Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma403.2%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,242 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Actinomycin D reports
Vincristine84468%
Etoposide74459.9%
Cyclophosphamide61149.2%
Ifosfamide45036.2%
Methotrexate40932.9%
Doxorubicin29723.9%
Carboplatin23819.2%
Cisplatin23418.8%
Vincristine sulfate20016.1%
Doxorubicin hydrochloride17013.7%

Other products listed in reports where Actinomycin D is a suspect product, whatever their own role. Co-listing means the two were recorded together; it says nothing about either product's part in the event. Only the 2,500 most-reported names are counted here.

In context

MeasureActinomycin DAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,24220,646,523
Share of that pool—0%
Reports, latest 12 months801,332,454
Marked serious99.4%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports20291
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports193213
Consumer-filed share0.6%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsOff label use 13.8%4.1%

Shares are of reports, not of patients treated. The number of people taking a product is not in the data, so none of these figures is a rate, and differences between columns reflect who takes a product, who reports and how long it has been sold. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Questions about Actinomycin D reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Actinomycin D?

1,242 reports list Actinomycin D as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 80 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 166 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Actinomycin D reports?

off label use (13.8%), neutropenia (7.9%), disease progression (7.2%), drug ineffective (7.2%) and febrile neutropenia (6.7%). These are MedDRA preferred terms coded from what the reporter described; a report can list several, and a term's presence is not a finding that Actinomycin D was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

99.4% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 20.2% of reports include death and 19.3% include hospitalisation. FDA has not verified these outcomes and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence" of the events.

Who files these reports?

other health professional (58.9%), physician (38%) and not given (1.5%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Actinomycin D rising?

80 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 85 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Counts also move with how many people take a product, its time on the market and publicity.

Do these reports show that Actinomycin D was responsible for these reactions?

No. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event." The reaction may relate to the condition being treated, to other medicines, or to something else.

Is this a list of the side effects of Actinomycin D?

No. It is a count of what was reported to FDA. The adverse reactions observed in clinical studies are printed on the FDA-approved label, which a pharmacist or clinician can go through with you.

How do I report an adverse event?

Consumers and health professionals can report to FDA through MedWatch (Form FDA 3500 online, or 1-800-FDA-1088), or to the manufacturer, which must pass reports on. See the guide on how to report.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. A report counts here when it lists Actinomycin D as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (166) are excluded. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.