# Granisetron

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

## TL;DR

Granisetron is an anti-sickness medicine for chemotherapy given as a tablet, an injection, a week-long skin patch (Sancuso) or a slow-release injection that lasts several days (Sustol).

## Summary

Granisetron (Kytril) was approved in December 1993 for prevention of nausea and vomiting from emetogenic chemotherapy, with tablets and a radiotherapy indication following; oral and intravenous granisetron are now generic. Two formulations extended its reach: the Sancuso transdermal patch (2008) applied 24 to 48 hours before chemotherapy and worn for up to seven days for regimens of up to five consecutive days, and Sustol (2016), a polymer-based extended-release subcutaneous injection that maintains levels for at least five days and is approved with other antiemetics for acute and delayed nausea and vomiting after moderately emetogenic or anthracycline-cyclophosphamide chemotherapy. The EU authorised Sancuso in 2012. Headache and constipation are the class effects; QT prolongation is less than with dolasetron.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Also known as: Granisetron hydrochloride; Granisetron transdermal system; Granisetron extended-release injection
- Tags: nci-list; supportive; generic
- Brand: Kytril (historic) / Sancuso / Sustol
- Modality: 5-HT3 receptor antagonist (antiemetic)
- Mechanism: Selective serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist acting on vagal afferents in the gut and the chemoreceptor trigger zone.
- Approvals: US 1993: Prevention of nausea and vomiting from emetogenic chemotherapy (Kytril; radiotherapy later); US 2008: Transdermal system for chemotherapy of up to five consecutive days (Sancuso); US 2016: Extended-release injection for acute and delayed nausea and vomiting with moderately emetogenic or anthracycline-cyclophosphamide chemotherapy (Sustol); EU 2012: Transdermal granisetron for moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy (Sancuso)

## Sources

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

## Connected records

- drugs: [Dolasetron](https://onco.cc/drugs/dolasetron/), [Ondansetron](https://onco.cc/drugs/ondansetron/), [Palonosetron](https://onco.cc/drugs/palonosetron/)
- technologies: [Antiemetics for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting](https://onco.cc/technologies/antiemetic-therapy/)
- companies: [Heron Therapeutics](https://onco.cc/companies/heron-therapeutics/)
- trials: [Phase 2 Trial of Prophylactic Rituximab Therapy for Prevention of CGVHD](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00186628/), [Study 3 (rolapitant, moderately emetogenic chemotherapy)](https://onco.cc/trials/ts-p04834/)
- targets: [5-HT3 receptor (HTR3A)](https://onco.cc/targets/htr3a/)

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