Reported Reactions

Drugs › Kinase inhibitor

Brand name · Sunitinib malate

Sutent: adverse event reports filed with FDA

33,215 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2006–2026. Class: Kinase inhibitor. Also reported as Sutent 125mg, Sutent 50mg.

33,215
reports as suspect product
0.2% of all reports · about 1,628 a year
175
reports, 12 months to June 2026
212 in the 12 months before
74.5%
marked serious by the reporter
70.8% across the class
31.2%
record death among outcomes, as reported
10,372 reports · not verified by FDA

33,215 adverse event reports received by FDA list the brand name Sutent (sunitinib malate) as a suspect or interacting product, from February 2006 to June 2026. A further 1,020 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, 175 reports listed it, down 17% from 212 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 1,628 reports a year and 0.2% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 3.9% 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 MedDRA terms listed most often are death (21.3%), diarrhoea (12.1%) and fatigue (11.4%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 1,851 different terms appear across these reports. Death is recorded in 21.3% of these reports, a larger share than in the median kinase inhibitor drug (7.6%).

74.5% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (70.8% across the class); 31.2% record death among the outcomes and 24.9% record hospitalisation, as reported. 43.2% of the reports came from consumers, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (30.5%). 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

065130Jul 2021: 70Aug 2021: 75Sep 2021: 73Oct 2021: 57Nov 2021: 61Dec 2021: 1132022Jan 2022: 111Feb 2022: 130Mar 2022: 83Apr 2022: 90May 2022: 58Jun 2022: 53Jul 2022: 58Aug 2022: 56Sep 2022: 79Oct 2022: 47Nov 2022: 56Dec 2022: 402023Jan 2023: 43Feb 2023: 40Mar 2023: 30Apr 2023: 56May 2023: 33Jun 2023: 19Jul 2023: 35Aug 2023: 26Sep 2023: 31Oct 2023: 28Nov 2023: 18Dec 2023: 192024Jan 2024: 17Feb 2024: 15Mar 2024: 16Apr 2024: 25May 2024: 21Jun 2024: 31Jul 2024: 21Aug 2024: 12Sep 2024: 24Oct 2024: 10Nov 2024: 32Dec 2024: 202025Jan 2025: 11Feb 2025: 7Mar 2025: 13Apr 2025: 20May 2025: 19Jun 2025: 23Jul 2025: 22Aug 2025: 6Sep 2025: 18Oct 2025: 12Nov 2025: 8Dec 2025: 192026Jan 2026: 20Feb 2026: 7Mar 2026: 13Apr 2026: 17May 2026: 20Jun 2026: 13

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

01,8213,6412006: 76320062007: 7712008: 7362009: 80520092010: 2,3472011: 1,9162012: 2,74020122013: 2,4822014: 2,8982015: 3,64120152016: 3,1812017: 2,6772018: 2,22420182019: 1,8322020: 1,4172021: 1,03420212022: 8612023: 3782024: 24420242025: 1782026: 90

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Sutent reports recording the termmedian drug in kinase inhibitor

  1. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term21.3%7,078
  2. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools12.1%4,004
  3. Fatiguetiredness11.4%3,798
  4. Disease progressionthe disease advanced10.8%3,601
  5. Nauseafeeling sick8.4%2,795
  6. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy6.6%2,207
  7. Decreased appetitereduced appetite6.4%2,128
  8. Vomitingbeing sick5.7%1,895
  9. Dysgeusiaaltered taste4.9%1,635
  10. Hypertensionhigh blood pressure4.8%1,580
  11. Weight decreasedweight loss4.4%1,471
  12. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell4.3%1,412
  13. Stomatitissore mouth4%1,334
  14. Pain in extremitypain in an arm or leg3.8%1,272
  15. Blood pressure increaseda raised blood pressure reading3.5%1,176
  16. Painpain, site not specified3.5%1,155
  17. Dyspnoeashortness of breath3.4%1,116
  18. Oral pain3.3%1,105
  19. Platelet count decreasedlow platelet count3.3%1,085
  20. Constipationconstipation2.8%922
  21. Rashskin rash2.8%921
  22. Headachehead pain2.7%900
  23. Dehydrationdehydration2.6%864
  24. Renal cell carcinoma2.6%858
  25. Pyrexiafever2.5%843
  26. Anaemialow red blood cells2.4%793
  27. Dyspepsiaindigestion2.4%792
  28. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness2.3%772

Top 30 of 1,851 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

Death31.2%10,372
Life-threatening2.2%742
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)24.9%8,261
Disability0.9%287
Congenital anomaly0%3
Other serious35.7%11,853
Not serious25.5%8,467

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%4
2 to 110%9
12 to 170.1%21
18 to 444.6%1,524
45 to 6430.5%10,114
65 to 7423.7%7,884
75 and over12.7%4,221
Age not given28.4%9,438

Patient sex

Female31.9%10,610
Male60.3%20,045
Not given7.7%2,560

Who reported

Physician27%8,965
Pharmacist8.7%2,876
Other health professional18.1%6,019
Lawyer0%4
Consumer or non-health professional43.2%14,353
Not given3%998

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 51.7% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Metastatic renal cell carcinoma6,09818.4%
Renal cell carcinoma4,96114.9%
Renal cancer3,99412%
Gastrointestinal stromal tumour2,3197%
Renal cancer metastatic1,0773.2%
Neoplasm malignant7422.2%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 33,215 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Sutent reports
Lisinopril1,0743.2%
Amlodipine9903%
Aspirin8862.7%
Omeprazole8712.6%
Metoprolol7072.1%
Levothyroxine6852.1%
Simvastatin6291.9%
Zofran5481.6%
Vitamin d5141.5%
Prilosec5061.5%

Other products listed in reports where Sutent 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

MeasureSutentKinase inhibitorAll reports
Reports as suspect product33,215849,16120,646,523
Share of that pool—3.9%0.2%
Reports, latest 12 months175—1,332,454
Marked serious74.5%70.8%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports31219091
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports249264213
Consumer-filed share43.2%42.3%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDeath 21.3%median 7.6%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 kinase inhibitor class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Ibrancebrand81,9122,38047.1%
Imbruvicabrand67,0392,28374.4%
Cabometyxbrand41,8184,90440.4%
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%
Nexavarbrand15,4496787.5%

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 Sutent reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Sutent?

33,215 reports list Sutent as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 175 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 1,020 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Sutent reports?

death (21.3%), diarrhoea (12.1%), fatigue (11.4%), disease progression (10.8%) and nausea (8.4%). 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 Sutent was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

74.5% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 31.2% of reports include death and 24.9% 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?

consumer or non-health professional (43.2%), physician (27%) and other health professional (18.1%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Sutent rising?

175 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, down 17% from 212 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 Sutent 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 Sutent?

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 Sutent as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (1,020) 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.