# Bexarotene

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/bexarotene/  
OnCo record `bexarotene` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Bexarotene (Targretin) is a vitamin A-like capsule and gel for the skin disease of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma when other treatments have stopped working.

## Summary

Bexarotene is a synthetic retinoid selective for the retinoid X receptor. The FDA approved the capsules in December 1999 and the 1% gel in 2000 for cutaneous manifestations of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome) refractory to at least one prior systemic therapy, on two open-label historically controlled trials in 152 patients. The EU authorised Targretin capsules in 2001 for the same population. Central hypothyroidism and marked hypertriglyceridaemia are expected effects of RXR activation and need thyroid replacement and lipid-lowering therapy alongside treatment; it is teratogenic.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: nci-list
- Brand: Targretin
- Modality: Small-molecule retinoid X receptor agonist
- Mechanism: Selectively binds and activates RXR alpha, beta and gamma; RXR heterodimers regulate transcription of genes controlling differentiation and apoptosis in malignant T cells.
- Approvals: US 1999: Cutaneous manifestations of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma refractory to at least one systemic therapy; EU 2001: Skin manifestations of advanced-stage CTCL refractory to at least one systemic treatment

## Notes

- Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma has no cancer record yet; link when one exists.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bexarotene
- US label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=bexarotene
- NCI drug page: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/bexarotene
- EPAR: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/targretin

## Connected records

- targets: [Retinoid X receptor (RXR)](https://onco.cc/targets/rxr/)
- companies: [Bausch Health](https://onco.cc/companies/bausch-health/)
- terms: [Skin-directed therapy in mycosis fungoides: creams, light and small radiotherapy fields](https://onco.cc/terms/lymphoma-tx-skin-directed-therapy/)
- cancers: [Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome)](https://onco.cc/cancers/cutaneous-t-cell-lymphoma/), [Mycosis fungoides](https://onco.cc/cancers/mycosis-fungoides/), [Sezary syndrome](https://onco.cc/cancers/sezary-syndrome/)
- drugs: [Vorinostat](https://onco.cc/drugs/vorinostat/)
- trials: [ALCANZA](https://onco.cc/trials/alcanza/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/bexarotene.json