Reported Reactions

Drugs › Kinase inhibitor

Brand name · Afatinib

Gilotrif: adverse event reports filed with FDA

5,308 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2013–2026. Class: Kinase inhibitor.

5,308
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 414 a year
39
reports, 12 months to June 2026
67 in the 12 months before
84.5%
marked serious by the reporter
70.8% across the class
21.7%
record death among outcomes, as reported
1,150 reports · not verified by FDA

Between September 2013 and June 2026, 5,308 adverse event reports received by FDA list the brand name Gilotrif (afatinib) as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (110) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 39 reports listed it, down 42% from 67 in 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 414 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 0.6% of the reports for the kinase 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 diarrhoea (34.6%), malignant neoplasm progression (26.5%) and rash (14.5%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 665 different terms appear across these reports. Diarrhoea is recorded in 34.6% of these reports, a larger share than in the median kinase inhibitor drug (6.9%).

84.5% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (70.8% across the class); 21.7% record death among the outcomes and 31.1% record hospitalisation, as reported. 55.3% of the reports came from physicians, and the largest patient age group is 65 to 74 (23.2%). 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

01937Jul 2021: 37Aug 2021: 26Sep 2021: 23Oct 2021: 25Nov 2021: 29Dec 2021: 222022Jan 2022: 17Feb 2022: 13Mar 2022: 15Apr 2022: 15May 2022: 10Jun 2022: 18Jul 2022: 15Aug 2022: 15Sep 2022: 15Oct 2022: 23Nov 2022: 7Dec 2022: 242023Jan 2023: 16Feb 2023: 7Mar 2023: 11Apr 2023: 5May 2023: 14Jun 2023: 20Jul 2023: 7Aug 2023: 13Sep 2023: 6Oct 2023: 17Nov 2023: 12Dec 2023: 62024Jan 2024: 15Feb 2024: 7Mar 2024: 17Apr 2024: 13May 2024: 7Jun 2024: 8Jul 2024: 6Aug 2024: 7Sep 2024: 4Oct 2024: 5Nov 2024: 10Dec 2024: 62025Jan 2025: 4Feb 2025: 1Mar 2025: 3Apr 2025: 11May 2025: 2Jun 2025: 8Jul 2025: 5Aug 2025: 4Sep 2025: 5Oct 2025: 6Nov 2025: 8Dec 2025: 12026Jan 2026: 1Feb 2026: 3Mar 2026: 2Apr 2026: 1May 2026: 2Jun 2026: 1

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

04198382013: 9920132014: 4312015: 68120152016: 6892017: 62620172018: 8382019: 55820192020: 5252021: 36720212022: 1872023: 13420232024: 1052025: 5820252026: 10

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Gilotrif reports recording the termmedian drug in kinase inhibitor

  1. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools34.6%1,838
  2. Rashskin rash14.5%768
  3. Stomatitissore mouth8.5%449
  4. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term7.9%418
  5. Nauseafeeling sick7.3%389
  6. Decreased appetitereduced appetite7.2%382
  7. Vomitingbeing sick6.3%333
  8. Paronychia5.9%311
  9. Dehydrationdehydration5.3%282
  10. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label4%214
  11. Fatiguetiredness4%212
  12. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy3.8%201
  13. Dry skindry skin3.5%185
  14. Weight decreasedweight loss3.4%181
  15. Dyspnoeashortness of breath3%159
  16. Acneacne2.9%156
  17. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected2.9%156
  18. Pneumonialung infection2.8%147
  19. Pruritusitching2.7%141
  20. Interstitial lung diseasescarring or inflammation of lung tissue2.5%134
  21. Epistaxisnosebleed2.4%125
  22. Pleural effusionfluid around the lung2.3%124
  23. Pyrexiafever2.2%116
  24. Alopeciahair loss2.1%114
  25. Disease progressionthe disease advanced2%106
  26. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell1.8%93
  27. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness1.7%92

Top 30 of 665 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 100 drugs in the kinase 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

Death21.7%1,150
Life-threatening3.5%184
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)31.1%1,652
Disability1.9%101
Congenital anomaly0%0
Other serious51.9%2,755
Not serious15.5%825

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 849,161 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%2
2 to 110.1%3
12 to 170%0
18 to 443.1%163
45 to 6422.2%1,179
65 to 7423.2%1,232
75 and over16.4%869
Age not given35%1,860

Patient sex

Female53.8%2,858
Male31.6%1,675
Not given14.6%775

Who reported

Physician55.3%2,933
Pharmacist6.1%326
Other health professional11.9%634
Lawyer0%0
Consumer or non-health professional25.9%1,374
Not given0.8%41

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 38% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Non-small cell lung cancer1,30824.6%
Lung neoplasm malignant73213.8%
Lung adenocarcinoma57510.8%
Egfr gene mutation2735.1%
Non-small cell lung cancer metastatic2294.3%
Adenocarcinoma891.7%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 5,308 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Gilotrif reports
Loperamide1843.5%
Dexamethasone991.9%
Folic acid901.7%
Amlodipine881.7%
Aspirin811.5%
Omeprazole751.4%
Calcium741.4%
Ergocalciferol701.3%
Metoprolol701.3%
Levothyroxine671.3%

Other products listed in reports where Gilotrif 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

MeasureGilotrifKinase inhibitorAll reports
Reports as suspect product5,308849,16120,646,523
Share of that pool—0.6%0%
Reports, latest 12 months39—1,332,454
Marked serious84.5%70.8%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports21719091
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports311264213
Consumer-filed share25.9%42.3%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDiarrhoea 34.6%median 6.9%3.1%

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 kinase inhibitor class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Ibrancebrand81,9122,38047.1%
Imbruvicabrand67,0392,28374.4%
Cabometyxbrand41,8184,90440.4%
Sutentbrand33,21517574.5%
Afinitorbrand30,70616171.3%
Sprycelbrand27,25555749.7%
Tasignabrand24,91132870.9%
Kisqalibrand24,6033,41379.2%
Ofevbrand23,9072,43466.9%
Gleevecbrand23,1328174.7%
Tagrissobrand23,0851,41092.3%
Lenvimabrand22,3502,64387.3%
Votrientbrand22,08411960.9%
Mekinistbrand17,07091664%
Inlytabrand15,69638860.9%

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 Gilotrif reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Gilotrif?

5,308 reports list Gilotrif as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 39 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 110 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Gilotrif reports?

diarrhoea (34.6%), malignant neoplasm progression (26.5%), rash (14.5%), stomatitis (8.5%) and death (7.9%). 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 Gilotrif was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

84.5% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 21.7% of reports include death and 31.1% 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 (55.3%), consumer or non-health professional (25.9%) and other health professional (11.9%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Gilotrif rising?

39 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, down 42% from 67 in 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 Gilotrif 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 Gilotrif?

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 Gilotrif as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (110) 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.