Reported Reactions

Drugs › Vinca alkaloid

Generic name

Vinblastine sulfate: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,607 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Vinca alkaloid. Also reported as Vinblastine Sulfate Injection.

1,607
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 71 a year
96
reports, 12 months to June 2026
131 in the 12 months before
97.3%
marked serious by the reporter
97.2% across the class
13.4%
record death among outcomes, as reported
216 reports · not verified by FDA

Between January 2004 and June 2026, 1,607 adverse event reports received by FDA list vinblastine sulfate, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (326) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 96 reports listed it, down 27% from 131 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 71 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 4.8% of the reports for the vinca alkaloid 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 febrile neutropenia (9.3%), neutropenia (8%) and pyrexia (6.2%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 472 different terms appear across these reports. Febrile neutropenia is recorded in 9.3% of these reports, about the same share as in the median vinca alkaloid drug (9.3%).

97.3% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (97.2% across the class); 13.4% record death among the outcomes and 39.5% record hospitalisation, as reported. 42.3% of the reports came from physicians, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (24.4%). 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

01631Jul 2021: 8Aug 2021: 7Sep 2021: 6Oct 2021: 14Nov 2021: 11Dec 2021: 122022Jan 2022: 8Feb 2022: 10Mar 2022: 9Apr 2022: 10May 2022: 10Jun 2022: 5Jul 2022: 8Aug 2022: 8Sep 2022: 9Oct 2022: 12Nov 2022: 31Dec 2022: 142023Jan 2023: 19Feb 2023: 17Mar 2023: 4Apr 2023: 4May 2023: 2Jun 2023: 7Jul 2023: 10Aug 2023: 15Sep 2023: 5Oct 2023: 2Nov 2023: 10Dec 2023: 82024Jan 2024: 8Feb 2024: 12Mar 2024: 10Apr 2024: 10May 2024: 5Jun 2024: 11Jul 2024: 21Aug 2024: 7Sep 2024: 11Oct 2024: 6Nov 2024: 24Dec 2024: 102025Jan 2025: 20Feb 2025: 4Mar 2025: 5Apr 2025: 10May 2025: 10Jun 2025: 3Jul 2025: 21Aug 2025: 9Sep 2025: 5Oct 2025: 2Nov 2025: 11Dec 2025: 102026Jan 2026: 2Feb 2026: 4Mar 2026: 5Apr 2026: 5May 2026: 10Jun 2026: 12

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

0791582004: 5220042005: 392006: 282007: 4820072008: 782009: 242010: 6020102011: 1512012: 1582013: 1720132014: 152015: 252016: 1520162017: 182018: 412019: 10220192020: 1172021: 992022: 13420222023: 1032024: 1352025: 11020252026: 38

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Vinblastine sulfate reports recording the termmedian drug in vinca alkaloid

  1. Febrile neutropeniafever with low white blood cells9.3%149
  2. Neutropenialow neutrophils, a type of white blood cell8%129
  3. Pyrexiafever6.2%99
  4. Nauseafeeling sick4.2%67
  5. Pancytopenialow counts of all blood cells4.1%66
  6. Neuropathy peripheralnerve damage in hands or feet3.9%62
  7. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label3.8%61
  8. Vomitingbeing sick3.7%59
  9. Anaemialow red blood cells3.4%54
  10. Sepsisa severe body-wide response to infection3.3%53
  11. White blood cell count decreasedlow white cell count2.9%47
  12. Dyspnoeashortness of breath2.8%45
  13. Interstitial lung diseasescarring or inflammation of lung tissue2.7%43
  14. Disease progressionthe disease advanced2.6%41
  15. Abdominal painstomach or belly pain2.4%39
  16. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools2.4%39
  17. Hodgkin's disease1.9%30
  18. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy1.7%27
  19. Hypothyroidismunderactive thyroid1.7%27
  20. Constipationconstipation1.6%26
  21. Hyponatraemialow blood sodium1.6%25
  22. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label1.6%25
  23. Thrombocytopenialow platelets1.6%25
  24. Pneumonialung infection1.5%24
  25. Type 2 diabetes mellitustype 2 diabetes1.5%24

Top 30 of 472 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 vinca alkaloid 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

Death13.4%216
Life-threatening6.7%107
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)39.5%635
Disability2.1%33
Congenital anomaly0.4%7
Other serious65.7%1,056
Not serious2.7%43

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 33,176 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 21.7%28
2 to 113.9%62
12 to 174%64
18 to 4424.4%392
45 to 6417.7%284
65 to 7412.5%201
75 and over8.6%139
Age not given27.2%437

Patient sex

Female35.6%572
Male48.4%777
Not given16.1%258

Who reported

Physician42.3%680
Pharmacist6.7%107
Other health professional35.1%564
Lawyer0.1%1
Consumer or non-health professional4.8%77
Not given11.1%178

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 24.8% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Hodgkin's disease49430.7%
Hodgkin's disease31519.6%
Bladder cancer271.7%
Optic glioma241.5%
Langerhans' cell histiocytosis221.4%
Diffuse large b-cell lymphoma161%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,607 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Vinblastine sulfate reports
Dacarbazine1,06266.1%
Doxorubicin hydrochloride96159.8%
Bleomycin sulfate44527.7%
Bleomycin27817.3%
Adcetris26516.5%
Doxorubicin23614.7%
Cisplatin21513.4%
Cyclophosphamide20913%
Etoposide18011.2%
Prednisone16210.1%

Other products listed in reports where Vinblastine sulfate 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

MeasureVinblastine sulfateVinca alkaloidAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,60733,17620,646,523
Share of that pool—4.8%0%
Reports, latest 12 months96—1,332,454
Marked serious97.3%97.2%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports13418491
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports395456213
Consumer-filed share4.8%6.5%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsFebrile neutropenia 9.3%median 9.3%0.3%

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 vinca alkaloid class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Vincristine sulfategeneric26,2621,39296.9%
Vinorelbinegeneric5,30724798.4%

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 Vinblastine sulfate reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Vinblastine sulfate?

1,607 reports list Vinblastine sulfate as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 96 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 326 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Vinblastine sulfate reports?

febrile neutropenia (9.3%), neutropenia (8%), pyrexia (6.2%), nausea (4.2%) and pancytopenia (4.1%). 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 Vinblastine sulfate was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

97.3% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 13.4% of reports include death and 39.5% 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 (42.3%), other health professional (35.1%) and not given (11.1%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Vinblastine sulfate rising?

96 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, down 27% from 131 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 Vinblastine sulfate 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 Vinblastine sulfate?

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 Vinblastine sulfate as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (326) 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.