Etoposide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Etoposide is a topoisomerase inhibitor sold in the U.S. under 4 brand and generic names, for urinary bladder neoplasms, brain neoplasms and lung neoplasms. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Topoisomerase Inhibitor
- Treats (across its forms)
- Urinary Bladder Neoplasms, Brain Neoplasms and Lung Neoplasms
- Available as
- Injectable · Capsule
- Sold as
- 4 products — Etopophos Preservative Free, Avopef and Etoposide, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- Boxed warning
- Boxed warning
How Etoposide is dosed
From the FDA label for Etoposide (application ANDA074513). Other etoposide products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Note: Plastic devices made of acrylic or ABS (a polymer composed of acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene) have been reported to crack and leak when used with undiluted Etoposide Injection USP. The usual dose of Etoposide Injection USP in testicular cancer in combination with other approved chemotherapeutic agents ranges from 50 to 100 mg/m 2 /day on days 1 through 5 to 100 mg/m 2 /day on days 1, 3, and 5. In small cell lung cancer, the Etoposide Injection USP dose in combination with other approved chemotherapeutic drugs ranges from 35 mg/m 2 /day for 4 days to 50 mg/m 2 /day for 5 days. For recommended dosing adjustments in patients with renal impairment see PRECAUTIONS . Chemotherapy courses are repeated at 3- to 4-week intervals after adequate recovery from any toxicity. The dosage should be modified to take into account the myelosuppressive effects of other drugs in the combination or the effects of prior X-ray therapy or chemotherapy which may have compromised bone marrow reserve. Administration Precautions As with other potentially toxic compounds, caution should be exercised in handling and preparing the solution of etoposide. Skin reactions associated with accidental exposure to Etoposide Injection USP may occur. The use of gloves is recommended. If etoposide solution contacts the skin or mucosa, immediately and thoroughly wash the skin with soap and water and flush…
Everything below is the FDA label for Etoposide (capsule). Etoposide is also sold as injectable, and those are different medicines to take — follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Etoposide side effects
The following data on adverse reactions are based on intravenous administration of etoposide Injection USP as a single agent, using several different dose schedules for treatment of a wide variety of malignancies. Hematologic Toxicity Myelosuppression is dose-related and dose-limiting, with granulocyte nadirs occurring 7 to 14 days after drug administration and platelet nadirs occurring 9 to 16 days after drug administration. Bone marrow recovery is usually complete by day 20, and no cumulative toxicity has been reported. Fever and infection have also been reported in patients with neutropenia. Death associated with myelosuppression has been reported. The occurrence of acute leukemia with or without a preleukemic phase has been reported rarely in patients treated with etoposide Injection USP in association with other antineoplastic agents. (See WARNINGS .) Gastrointestinal Toxicity Nausea and vomiting are the major gastrointestinal toxicities. The severity of such nausea and vomiting is generally mild to moderate with treatment discontinuation required in 1% of patients. Nausea and vomiting can usually be controlled with standard antiemetic therapy. Mild to severe mucositis/esophagitis may occur. Gastrointestinal toxicities are slightly more frequent after oral administration than after intravenous infusion. Hypotension Transient hypotension following rapid intravenous…
Who shouldn’t take Etoposide
Etoposide Injection USP is contraindicated in patients who have demonstrated a previous hypersensitivity to etoposide or any component of the formulation.
Every etoposide product we track (4)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | No data | — | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | No data | — | View → |
What etoposide pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
Etoposide and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for etoposide: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadMost sources consider breastfeeding to be contraindicated during maternal antineoplastic drug therapy. It might be possible to breastfeed safely during intermittent therapy with etoposide after an appropriate period of breastfeeding abstinence. A period of at least 24 hours is required after a dose of 80 mg/sq. m. or less. Others have suggested an abstinence period of 72 hours after etoposide use. Chemotherapy may adversely affect the normal microbiome and chemical makeup of breastmilk. Women who receive chemotherapy during pregnancy are more likely to have difficulty nursing their infant.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised September 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about etoposide
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 76,930 reports naming etoposide, and the FDA flagged 97% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- febrile neutropenia8,167 reports
- neutropenia5,326 reports
- thrombocytopenia4,305 reports
- pyrexia3,691 reports
- anaemia3,492 reports
- sepsis3,165 reports
- pancytopenia2,926 reports
- nausea2,700 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean etoposide caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved September 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is Etoposide?
Etoposide (also commonly known as VP-16) is a semisynthetic derivative of podophyllotoxin used in the treatment of certain neoplastic diseases. It is 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin 9-[4,6-O-(R)-ethylidene-β-D-glucopyranoside]. It is very soluble in methanol and chloroform, slightly soluble in ethanol and sparingly soluble in water and ether. It is made more miscible with water by means of organic solvents.
What kind of drug is etoposide?
The FDA classifies etoposide as a topoisomerase inhibitor. Topoisomerase inhibitors target enzymes that cells rely on to cut and rejoin their DNA during cell division. By trapping these enzymes after they cut the DNA but before they can reseal it, the drugs leave the DNA broken, which halts cell division and kills rapidly dividing cancer cells. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take etoposide with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run etoposide against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is etoposide sold under?
We track 4 etoposide-containing products in the U.S.: Etopophos Preservative Free, Avopef, Etoposide and Vepesid. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does etoposide come in?
Across the brands we track, etoposide is currently marketed as injectable and capsule, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic etoposide?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic etoposide product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Etoposide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/etoposide
- MLA
- “Etoposide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/etoposide.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for etoposide on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.