CVM Warns on Pet Deaths from Fluorouracil

FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) 1/18 announced an alert to pet owners, veterinarians, health care providers and pharmacists that “pets are at risk of illness and death when exposed to the topical cancer medication fluorouracil cream USP 5% intended for use in people.” It said the agency had reports of five dogs that died after ingesting fluorouracil cream and CVM expects that this danger exists also for cats, although there have been no reports. “If an owner applies fluorouracil cream to an afflicted area and touches their cat, the cat may accidentally ingest the medication when grooming itself and suffer adverse events.”

Fluorouracil may be marketed under the brand names Carac, Effudex and Fluoroplex, CVM added. “People using this medication should use care when applying and storing the medication if they are also in a household with pets, as even very small amounts could be dangerous to these animals.”