Medicinehospital

Actinomycin D (dactinomycin)

Chemotherapy injection for several childhood and adult cancers.

Clinical information

Common uses

Wilms tumour
rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma
metastatic testicular cancer
gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

Common side effects

infection
hair loss
rash
feeling sick or vomiting
tiredness, fever and low blood counts

Cautions

can cause severe or fatal liver disease (veno-occlusive disease)
severely lowers blood cell counts — regular monitoring needed
increased risk of second cancers later
live vaccines not recommended during treatment

Interactions

radiation therapy (toxicity increased; dose reduced by half)

Pregnancy: avoid — can harm the baby; use contraception

Reference information, not medical advice — always follow your doctor or pharmacist. Source: DailyMed, dailymed.nlm.nih.gov, dactinomycin injection label, setid 5da55538-2602-4704-a9da-603c9f7ff7dc (accessed 2026-08-16)

Approved brands & formulations1

Brand name	Dosage form	Strength	Importer	Category
Actinomycin D (dactinomycin)	Parenteral ( Injection )	0.5mg	MFDA designated importers with Pre Authorization approval before import	hospital