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Carmustine Side Effects

The most commonly reported side effects of carmustine include off label use, febrile neutropenia, and myelodysplastic syndrome, based on 5,330 FDA adverse event reports from 2004 to 2025. 3.5% of reports found the drug to be ineffective.

Carmustine side effects

Percentages show how often each reaction appears relative to total reports for carmustine.

1
Off Label Use10.3%548
2
Febrile Neutropenia7.0%374
3
Myelodysplastic Syndrome5.8%307
4
Disease Progression4.9%263
5
Thrombocytopenia4.2%223
6
Pyrexia3.8%202
7
Mucosal Inflammation3.7%196
8
Acute Myeloid Leukaemia3.5%188
9
Drug Ineffective3.5%186
10
Diarrhoea3.3%178
11
Neutropenia3.2%172
12
Product Use In Unapproved Indication3.2%171
13
Infection3.2%169
14
Pneumonia2.9%153
15
Second Primary Malignancy2.7%146

These are voluntary reports and do not establish that carmustine caused these reactions.

Report severity

97.4%Serious5,191 reports
30.8%Hospitalizations1,644 reports
25.9%Fatal1,379 reports

Seriousness is determined by the reporter, not by OpenClaim.

Carmustine drug interactions

Other drugs that appear in adverse event reports alongside carmustine. Drugs flagged as a suspected cause appear in the first column. Drugs taken at the same time but not suspected appear in the second.

Also suspected

1
Etoposide57.7%3,075
2
Cytarabine53.2%2,836
3
Melphalan52.1%2,775
4
Cyclophosphamide35.9%1,913
5
Rituximab32.6%1,738
6
Doxorubicin-hydrochloride31.4%1,675
7
Vincristine-sulfate30.4%1,618
8
Prednisone23.8%1,267
9
Dexamethasone21.0%1,118
10
Cisplatin18.3%974
11
Methotrexate15.8%840
12
Ifosfamide11.6%617
13
Prednisolone10.2%546
14
Carboplatin8.2%438
15
Gemcitabine7.9%423

Taken alongside

1
Etoposide10.4%554
2
Melphalan9.8%521
3
Dexamethasone8.8%467
4
Cytarabine8.3%445
5
Acyclovir5.7%306
6
Cyclophosphamide4.7%252
7
Prednisone4.1%219
8
Vincristine-sulfate3.9%210
9
Fluconazole3.8%205
10
Sulfamethoxazole3.4%182
11
Doxorubicin-hydrochloride3.3%176
12
Rituximab3.2%169
13
Ondansetron3.1%166
14
Acetaminophen2.9%157
15
Trimethoprim2.8%151

Co-occurrence in adverse event reports does not establish a drug interaction. Patients often take multiple medications, and these lists reflect prescribing patterns rather than causal relationships. Consult a healthcare provider about potential drug interactions.

Who reports carmustine side effects

28.3% of carmustine adverse event reports involve female patients and 48.4% involve male patients. The largest age group is adult at 74%. These figures reflect who reports side effects, not underlying risk.

Sex

Female28.3%
Male48.4%
Unknown23.2%

Age group

< 20.3%
2–111.3%
12–170.9%
18–6474.4%
65+23.0%

What is carmustine used for

Conditions and purposes for which patients were taking carmustine when the adverse event was reported.

Acral Lentiginous MelanomaAcute LeukaemiaAcute Lymphocytic LeukaemiaAcute Myeloid LeukaemiaAdrenocortical CarcinomaAdult T-cell Lymphoma/leukaemiaAllogenic Bone Marrow Transplantation TherapyAllogenic Stem Cell TransplantationAmerican TrypanosomiasisAnaplastic AstrocytomaAnaplastic EpendymomaAnaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma T- And Null-cell TypesAnaplastic Large-cell LymphomaAnaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Gene MutationAnaplastic Oligodendroglioma

Showing 15 of 290 indications

Carmustine brand names and reporting trend

Carmustine is sold under the brand name Gliadel.

Brand names

Gliadel4,416

Quarterly reports (20042025)

20052010201520202025

An upward trend reflects increased FAERS reporting overall, not necessarily increased risk.

Taking carmustine with another medication?

Ask OpenClaim about your specific drug combination. Get a sourced report using FDA data, drug labels, and medical literature.