Reported Reactions

Drugs › Nucleoside metabolic inhibitor

Generic name

Gemcitabine hydrochloride: adverse event reports filed with FDA

12,399 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Nucleoside metabolic inhibitor. Also reported as Gemcitabine Hydrochloride For Injection, Gemcitabine Hydrochloride 2000mg.

12,399
reports as suspect product
0.1% of all reports · about 551 a year
1,164
reports, 12 months to June 2026
1,247 in the 12 months before
97.1%
marked serious by the reporter
92.2% across the class
18.4%
record death among outcomes, as reported
2,278 reports · not verified by FDA

12,399 adverse event reports received by FDA list gemcitabine hydrochloride, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product, from January 2004 to June 2026. A further 1,303 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, 1,164 reports listed it, close to the 1,247 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 551 reports a year and 0.1% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 4% of the reports for the nucleoside metabolic inhibitor class. 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 (10.5%), myelosuppression (8.4%) and thrombocytopenia (5.9%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 1,304 different terms appear across these reports. Off label use is recorded in 10.5% of these reports, a larger share than in the median nucleoside metabolic inhibitor drug (6.1%).

97.1% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (92.2% across the class); 18.4% record death among the outcomes and 46.3% record hospitalisation, as reported. 39.5% of the reports came from physicians, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (28.4%). 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

080160Jul 2021: 57Aug 2021: 73Sep 2021: 77Oct 2021: 94Nov 2021: 110Dec 2021: 1042022Jan 2022: 83Feb 2022: 80Mar 2022: 71Apr 2022: 66May 2022: 73Jun 2022: 65Jul 2022: 78Aug 2022: 88Sep 2022: 77Oct 2022: 66Nov 2022: 86Dec 2022: 612023Jan 2023: 72Feb 2023: 82Mar 2023: 85Apr 2023: 74May 2023: 160Jun 2023: 81Jul 2023: 80Aug 2023: 72Sep 2023: 77Oct 2023: 94Nov 2023: 85Dec 2023: 602024Jan 2024: 65Feb 2024: 64Mar 2024: 92Apr 2024: 91May 2024: 112Jun 2024: 100Jul 2024: 119Aug 2024: 104Sep 2024: 100Oct 2024: 91Nov 2024: 102Dec 2024: 1332025Jan 2025: 119Feb 2025: 83Mar 2025: 120Apr 2025: 87May 2025: 84Jun 2025: 105Jul 2025: 89Aug 2025: 105Sep 2025: 99Oct 2025: 92Nov 2025: 106Dec 2025: 992026Jan 2026: 73Feb 2026: 94Mar 2026: 108Apr 2026: 96May 2026: 110Jun 2026: 93

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

05941,1882004: 1520042005: 232006: 452007: 120072008: 22009: 62010: 8620102011: 4752012: 5902013: 45420132014: 4552015: 4352016: 51320162017: 5632018: 7392019: 1,09220192020: 1,0782021: 9762022: 89420222023: 1,0222024: 1,1732025: 1,18820252026: 574

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Gemcitabine hydrochloride reports recording the termmedian drug in nucleoside metabolic inhibitor

  1. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label10.5%1,304
  2. Thrombocytopenialow platelets5.9%729
  3. Neutropenialow neutrophils, a type of white blood cell5.1%630
  4. Anaemialow red blood cells5%621
  5. Pyrexiafever4.8%601
  6. Nauseafeeling sick4.6%574
  7. Vomitingbeing sick3.9%480
  8. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools3.7%453
  9. Febrile neutropeniafever with low white blood cells3.4%426
  10. Platelet count decreasedlow platelet count3.4%422
  11. Fatiguetiredness3.3%412
  12. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy3.1%389
  13. Pneumonialung infection3.1%380
  14. Dyspnoeashortness of breath3%371
  15. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term2.9%363
  16. Sepsisa severe body-wide response to infection2.9%361
  17. Pancytopenialow counts of all blood cells2.7%329
  18. Neuropathy peripheralnerve damage in hands or feet2.5%313
  19. Pulmonary embolisma blood clot in the lung2.5%305
  20. White blood cell count decreasedlow white cell count2.4%302
  21. Abdominal painstomach or belly pain2.4%297
  22. Acute kidney injurysudden loss of kidney function2.3%280
  23. Disease progressionthe disease advanced2.3%280
  24. Decreased appetitereduced appetite2.2%268
  25. General physical health deteriorationgeneral decline in health1.8%228

Top 30 of 1,304 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 median share across the 19 drugs in the nucleoside metabolic inhibitor class; 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

Death18.4%2,278
Life-threatening9.3%1,159
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)46.3%5,745
Disability1.3%155
Congenital anomaly0%5
Other serious59.3%7,350
Not serious2.9%356

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 313,386 reports in the class. 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 20.1%11
2 to 110.2%28
12 to 171%127
18 to 446.7%836
45 to 6428.4%3,521
65 to 7424.2%2,999
75 and over12.4%1,542
Age not given26.9%3,335

Patient sex

Female39.1%4,843
Male42.2%5,233
Not given18.7%2,323

Who reported

Physician39.5%4,903
Pharmacist4.8%596
Other health professional35.7%4,430
Lawyer0%4
Consumer or non-health professional16.2%2,007
Not given3.7%459

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 23.2% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Pancreatic carcinoma1,2169.8%
Pancreatic carcinoma metastatic6475.2%
Non-small cell lung cancer4213.4%
Adenocarcinoma pancreas3933.2%
Diffuse large b-cell lymphoma3052.5%
Bladder cancer3032.4%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 12,399 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Gemcitabine hydrochloride reports
Cisplatin3,38227.3%
Carboplatin1,91615.5%
Oxaliplatin1,1799.5%
Paclitaxel1,1439.2%
Dexamethasone1,1109%
Abraxane9337.5%
Rituximab8016.5%
Cyclophosphamide6655.4%
Docetaxel5984.8%
Ondansetron5274.3%

Other products listed in reports where Gemcitabine hydrochloride 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

MeasureGemcitabine hydrochlorideNucleoside metabolic inhibitorAll reports
Reports as suspect product12,399313,38620,646,523
Share of that pool—4%0.1%
Reports, latest 12 months1,164—1,332,454
Marked serious97.1%92.2%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports18421091
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports463380213
Consumer-filed share16.2%11.4%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsOff label use 10.5%median 6.1%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."

Other drugs in the nucleoside metabolic inhibitor class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Fluorouracilgeneric60,4515,31596.1%
Capecitabinegeneric51,7833,28183.3%
Cytarabinegeneric50,7413,54597.9%
Gemcitabinegeneric33,1982,92097.9%
Xelodabrand32,27928073%
Fludarabinebrand20,2601,90098.7%
Azacitidinegeneric14,9691,83098%
Mercaptopurinegeneric10,54050795.8%
Vidazabrand9,08735896.9%
Fludarabine phosphategeneric8,42641998.5%
Decitabinegeneric3,02625896.8%
Clofarabinegeneric2,0207796.5%
Purixangeneric7672981.5%
Onuregbrand7556949.8%
Pentostatingeneric6971691.7%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. 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." A brand and its generic are separate rows because reporters name them separately.

Questions about Gemcitabine hydrochloride reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Gemcitabine hydrochloride?

12,399 reports list Gemcitabine hydrochloride as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 1,164 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 1,303 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Gemcitabine hydrochloride reports?

off label use (10.5%), myelosuppression (8.4%), thrombocytopenia (5.9%), malignant neoplasm progression (5.6%) and neutropenia (5.1%). 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 Gemcitabine hydrochloride was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

97.1% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 18.4% of reports include death and 46.3% 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?

physician (39.5%), other health professional (35.7%) and consumer or non-health professional (16.2%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Gemcitabine hydrochloride rising?

1,164 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 1,247 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 Gemcitabine hydrochloride 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 Gemcitabine hydrochloride?

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 Gemcitabine hydrochloride as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (1,303) 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.