Reported Reactions

Drugs › Estrogen Agonist/Antagonist

Generic name

Tamoxifen citrate: adverse event reports filed with FDA

3,064 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Estrogen Agonist/Antagonist. Also reported as Tamoxifen Citrate 10mg Tablets, Tamoxifen Citrate 20mg Tablets, Tamoxifen Citrate Tablets Usp.

3,064
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 136 a year
104
reports, 12 months to June 2026
69 in the 12 months before
80%
marked serious by the reporter
53.8% across the class
8%
record death among outcomes, as reported
244 reports · not verified by FDA

Between January 2004 and June 2026, 3,064 adverse event reports received by FDA list tamoxifen citrate, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (2,685) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 104 reports listed it, up 51% from 69 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 136 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 23.8% of the reports for the estrogen Agonist/Antagonist class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

Reporters most often recorded malignant neoplasm progression (7.9%), fatigue (5.7%) and nausea (5.2%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 753 different terms appear across these reports. Malignant neoplasm progression is recorded in 7.9% of these reports, with no counterpart in the median estrogen Agonist/Antagonist drug (0%).

80% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (53.8% across the class); 8% record death among the outcomes and 23.8% record hospitalisation, as reported. 30.9% of the reports came from consumers, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (33.1%). 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

01631Jul 2021: 14Aug 2021: 6Sep 2021: 15Oct 2021: 10Nov 2021: 21Dec 2021: 102022Jan 2022: 8Feb 2022: 7Mar 2022: 22Apr 2022: 16May 2022: 11Jun 2022: 8Jul 2022: 9Aug 2022: 9Sep 2022: 17Oct 2022: 16Nov 2022: 15Dec 2022: 92023Jan 2023: 8Feb 2023: 31Mar 2023: 11Apr 2023: 11May 2023: 7Jun 2023: 9Jul 2023: 16Aug 2023: 9Sep 2023: 12Oct 2023: 7Nov 2023: 6Dec 2023: 32024Jan 2024: 5Feb 2024: 5Mar 2024: 5Apr 2024: 5May 2024: 3Jun 2024: 2Jul 2024: 2Aug 2024: 4Sep 2024: 16Oct 2024: 0Nov 2024: 4Dec 2024: 42025Jan 2025: 10Feb 2025: 12Mar 2025: 6Apr 2025: 5May 2025: 1Jun 2025: 5Jul 2025: 9Aug 2025: 10Sep 2025: 12Oct 2025: 12Nov 2025: 10Dec 2025: 62026Jan 2026: 11Feb 2026: 3Mar 2026: 5Apr 2026: 8May 2026: 7Jun 2026: 11

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

01382752004: 8520042005: 852006: 1792007: 26520072008: 1472009: 2752010: 15720102011: 2182012: 1772013: 5220132014: 562015: 812016: 12120162017: 1162018: 1282019: 14620192020: 1282021: 1732022: 14720222023: 1302024: 552025: 9820252026: 45

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Tamoxifen citrate reports recording the termmedian drug in estrogen agonist/antagonist

  1. Fatiguetiredness5.7%175
  2. Nauseafeeling sick5.2%160
  3. Arthralgiajoint pain5%152
  4. Hot flusha hot flush4.8%146
  5. Disease progressionthe disease advanced4.6%141
  6. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools4.2%129
  7. Breast cancerbreast cancer4%124
  8. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected3.2%97
  9. Dyspnoeashortness of breath3.1%95
  10. Painpain, site not specified3%92
  11. Headachehead pain3%91
  12. Myalgiamuscle pain2.8%87
  13. Pulmonary embolisma blood clot in the lung2.7%84
  14. Insomniadifficulty sleeping2.7%83
  15. Vomitingbeing sick2.7%83
  16. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness2.5%78
  17. Neuropathy peripheralnerve damage in hands or feet2.5%78
  18. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label2.5%77
  19. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy2.3%72
  20. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines2.3%72
  21. Weight increasedweight gain2.3%72
  22. Back painback pain2.3%71
  23. Breast cancer recurrent2.3%71
  24. Pain in extremitypain in an arm or leg2.3%70
  25. Weight decreasedweight loss2.2%67
  26. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell2.2%66

Top 30 of 753 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 3 drugs in the estrogen agonist/antagonist 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

Death8%244
Life-threatening4%122
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)23.8%728
Disability5.4%164
Congenital anomaly0.7%22
Other serious56.2%1,722
Not serious20%614

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 12,848 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%3
2 to 110.2%5
12 to 170%1
18 to 449%276
45 to 6433.1%1,015
65 to 7412.5%383
75 and over7.8%238
Age not given37.3%1,143

Patient sex

Female86.6%2,654
Male3.2%99
Not given10.2%311

Who reported

Physician30.2%926
Pharmacist3.9%118
Other health professional23.6%723
Lawyer0.5%14
Consumer or non-health professional30.9%946
Not given11%337

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 39.2% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Breast cancer1,28341.9%
Breast cancer metastatic1595.2%
Breast cancer female1183.9%
Invasive ductal breast carcinoma301%
Breast cancer in situ280.9%
Her2 positive breast cancer220.7%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 3,064 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Tamoxifen citrate reports
Letrozole33510.9%
Cyclophosphamide32710.7%
Docetaxel2367.7%
Paclitaxel2297.5%
Exemestane2016.6%
Capecitabine1846%
Fluorouracil1785.8%
Anastrozole1555.1%
Fulvestrant1504.9%
Trastuzumab1504.9%

Other products listed in reports where Tamoxifen citrate 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

MeasureTamoxifen citrateEstrogen Agonist/AntagonistAll reports
Reports as suspect product3,06412,84820,646,523
Share of that pool—23.8%0%
Reports, latest 12 months104—1,332,454
Marked serious80%53.8%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports803091
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports238172213
Consumer-filed share30.9%56.1%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsMalignant neoplasm progression 7.9%median 0%0.5%

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 estrogen agonist/antagonist class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Evistabrand7,4581155.2%
Osphenabrand2,326514.7%

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 Tamoxifen citrate reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Tamoxifen citrate?

3,064 reports list Tamoxifen citrate as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 104 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 2,685 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Tamoxifen citrate reports?

malignant neoplasm progression (7.9%), fatigue (5.7%), nausea (5.2%), arthralgia (5%) and hot flush (4.8%). 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 Tamoxifen citrate was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

80% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 8% of reports include death and 23.8% 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 (30.9%), physician (30.2%) and other health professional (23.6%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Tamoxifen citrate rising?

104 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, up 51% from 69 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 Tamoxifen citrate 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 Tamoxifen citrate?

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 Tamoxifen citrate as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (2,685) 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.