Procarbazine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Procarbazine is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for brain neoplasms, hodgkin disease 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
- Treats
- Brain Neoplasms, Hodgkin Disease and Lung Neoplasms
- Available as
- Capsule
- Sold as
- Matulane
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- Boxed warning
- Boxed warning
How procarbazine is dosed
From the FDA label for Matulane (application NDA016785). Other procarbazine products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
The following doses are for administration of the drug as a single agent. When used in combination with other anticancer drugs, the Matulane dose should be appropriately reduced, eg, in the MOPP regimen, the Matulane dose is 100 mg/m2 daily for 14 days. All dosages are based on the patient's actual weight. However, the estimated lean body mass (dry weight) is used if the patient is obese or if there has been a spurious weight gain due to edema, ascites or other forms of abnormal fluid retention. Adults: To minimize the nausea and vomiting experienced by a high percentage of patients beginning Matulane therapy, single or divided doses of 2 to 4 mg/kg/day for the first week are recommended. Daily dosage should then be maintained at 4 to 6 mg/kg/day until maximum response is obtained or until the white blood count falls below 4000/cmm or the platelets fall below 100,000/ cmm. When maximum response is obtained, the dose may be maintained at 1 to 2 mg/kg/day. Upon evidence of hematologic or other toxicity (see PRECAUTIONS section), the drug should be discontinued until there has been satisfactory recovery. After toxic side effects have subsided, therapy may then be resumed at the discretion of the physician, based on clinical evaluation and appropriate laboratory studies, at a dosage of 1 to 2 mg/kg/day. Pediatric Patients: Very close clinical monitoring is mandatory. Undue…
Procarbazine side effects
Leukopenia, anemia and thrombopenia occur frequently. Nausea and vomiting are the most commonly reported side effects. Other adverse reactions are: Hematologic Pancytopenia; eosinophilia; hemolytic anemia; bleeding tendencies such as petechiae, purpura, epistaxis and hemoptysis. Gastrointestinal Hepatic dysfunction, jaundice, stomatitis, hematemesis, melena, diarrhea, dysphagia, anorexia, abdominal pain, constipation, dry mouth. Neurologic Coma, convulsions, neuropathy, ataxia, paresthesia, nystagmus, diminished reflexes, falling, foot drop, headache, dizziness, unsteadiness. Cardiovascular Hypotension, tachycardia, syncope. Ophthalmic Retinal hemorrhage, papilledema, photophobia, diplopia, inability to focus. Respiratory Pneumonitis, pleural effusion, cough. Dermatologic Herpes, dermatitis, pruritus, alopecia, hyperpigmentation, rash, urticaria, flushing. Allergic Generalized allergic reactions. Genitourinary Hematuria, urinary frequency, nocturia. Musculoskeletal Pain, including myalgia and arthralgia; tremors. Psychiatric Hallucinations, depression, apprehension, nervousness, confusion, nightmares. Endocrine Gynecomastia in prepubertal and early pubertal boys. Miscellaneous Intercurrent infections, hearing loss, pyrexia, diaphoresis, lethargy, weakness, fatigue, edema, chills, insomnia, slurred speech, hoarseness, drowsiness. Second nonlymphoid malignancies (including lung…
Who shouldn’t take procarbazine
Matulane is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to the drug or inadequate marrow reserve as demonstrated by bone marrow aspiration. Due consideration of this possible state should be given to each patient who has leukopenia, thrombocytopenia or anemia.
Procarbazine drug interactions
See WARNINGS section. No cross-resistance with other chemotherapeutic agents, radiotherapy or steroids has been demonstrated.
Every procarbazine product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Matulane.
What procarbazine pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
| Imprint | Strength | Colour | Shape | Maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MATULANE;LB213 | 50 mg | white | capsule | — |
What people report to the FDA about procarbazine
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 734 reports naming procarbazine, and the FDA flagged 100% 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:
- neutropenia40 reports
- hepatic cytolysis39 reports
- pyrexia36 reports
- febrile neutropenia34 reports
- metastasis33 reports
- acute kidney injury30 reports
- pulmonary toxicity30 reports
- thrombocytopenia28 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean procarbazine 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 section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 26, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is procarbazine?
Matulane (procarbazine hydrochloride), a hydrazine derivative antineoplastic agent, is available as capsules containing the equivalent of 50 mg procarbazine as the hydrochloride. Each capsule also contains cornstarch, mannitol and talc. Gelatin capsule shells contain titanium dioxide, FD&C Yellow No. 6 and D&C Yellow No. 10.
Can you take procarbazine 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 procarbazine against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does procarbazine come in?
Across the brands we track, procarbazine is currently marketed as 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 procarbazine?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled procarbazine product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Procarbazine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/procarbazine
- MLA
- “Procarbazine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/procarbazine.
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 procarbazine on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.