Fluorouracil

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17 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
17
Total Reports
17
Deaths Reported
10000.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Fluorouracil

Administration Routes

OralUnknownTopical

Species Affected

Dog 16
Cat 1

Most Affected Breeds

Dog (unknown) 8
Unknown 3
Retriever - Labrador 1
Poodle (unspecified) 1
Retriever - Golden 1
Chihuahua 1
Dachshund (unspecified) 1
Cat (unknown) 1

Most Reported Reactions

Death 13
Accidental exposure 13
Seizure NOS 7
Vomiting 5
Labels, Abnormal 3
Death by euthanasia 2
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 2
Neutropenia 1
Septicaemia 1
Shock 1
Overdose 1
General pain (see other SOCs for specific pain) 1

Outcome Breakdown

Died
15 (88.2%)
Euthanized
2 (11.8%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 17
Reports involving death 17
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 10000.0%
Distinct species in reports 2
Distinct breeds in reports 8
Distinct reactions reported 15
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Fluorouracil Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 17 adverse event reports referencing Fluorouracil, including 17 reports in which the animal died — a 10000.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Fluorouracil. Reported administration routes include Oral, Unknown, Topical. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Fluorouracil reports are Dog (16 reports), Cat (1 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Dog (unknown) (8), Unknown (3), Retriever - Labrador (1) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Fluorouracil are Death (13), Accidental exposure (13), Seizure NOS (7), Vomiting (5). Of the 17 reports with a coded outcome, Died is the leading category at 88.2%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Fluorouracil.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial