What the FDA labels say about taking them together
Arsenic trioxide and tretinoin
Arsenic trioxide's FDA label (Trisenox) of October 28, 2025 names tretinoin in its drug interactions section; the tretinoin labels PlainMeds reads (4) do not name arsenic trioxide. The arsenic trioxide label: “… with newly-diagnosed low-risk APL treated with TRISENOX in combination with tretinoin.”
Check it at the source: the arsenic trioxide FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 23, 2021, Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC); the tretinoin FDA label on DailyMed (effective May 17, 2024, Bausch Health US, LLC).
What does the arsenic trioxide label say about tretinoin?
Trisenox label (Cephalon, LLC, October 28, 2025), drug interactionsDrugs That Can Lead to Hepatotoxicity Concomitant use of these drugs and TRISENOX, particularly when given in combination with tretinoin, may increase the risk of serious hepatotoxicity [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.4 )].
Trisenox label (Cephalon, LLC, October 28, 2025), warnings and precautionsWARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Hepatotoxicity: Elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase and serum bilirubin have occurred in patients with newly-diagnosed low-risk APL treated with TRISENOX in combination with tretinoin.
Source: FDA drug label (Trisenox, NDA021248), Cephalon, LLC, effective October 28, 2025 (SPL set 101fc347-d0ad-4aee-8b06-9feb187fd741), via openFDA
Source: FDA drug label (Arsenic Trioxide), Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, effective July 23, 2021 (SPL set 5845022e-8c01-451b-ae49-a28e58c5f845), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What does the tretinoin label say about arsenic trioxide?
Tretinoin's label (effective May 17, 2024) and its 3 other brand-application labels do not name arsenic trioxide in these sections. A label lists what its studies and reports found; it is not a complete list.
Source: FDA drug label (Retin-A), Bausch Health US, LLC, effective May 17, 2024 (SPL set 9556d73d-c573-4e0a-9feb-764ce2d1107b), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
These are the labels' own sentences. PlainMeds does not grade interactions; a pharmacist or prescriber can say what they mean for one person's medicines.
Both medicines on the record
| Arsenic trioxide | Tretinoin | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma | Acne |
| Boxed warning | Yes | No |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC) | n/a | $0.506 per gram 0.025% cream |
| Shortage now | A presentation being discontinued | No current entry |
Source: FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026 and the FDA Drug Shortage Database (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What next?
- Check more medicines together
- up to five at once