BiTE (CD19×CD3)
Blinatumomab
Blincyto · BLINA
BiTE (CD19×CD3) · approved 2014 · 7 references
A CD19xCD3 BiTE whose renal risk is driven by cytokine release and tumor lysis rather than direct nephrotoxicity.
- Signature injury
- Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI
- Severity
- Moderate
- Reversibility
- Reversible
- Onset
- Early, typically during the first days of an infusion cycle (CRS) or with rapid tumor cytoreduction (TLS), concentrated around initiation and dose step-up.
Signature kidney injury & incidence
Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI.
Acute kidney injury is predominantly secondary to cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) rather than a direct drug effect; renal injury is described mainly at the case/series level and is not robustly quantified as a primary endpoint. By analogy to immune-effector-cell therapies, AKI is generally low-grade and rapidly reversible when the syndrome is controlled.
Source: Gutgarts et al., Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2020
Reported injury signatures: Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI, Acute Tubular Necrosis, Crystal / Obstructive Nephropathy.
Renal toxicity profile
- Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKIPrimary
- Acute Tubular NecrosisSecondary
- Crystal / Obstructive NephropathySecondary
Onset timing & rechallenge
Acute (~1–7 days) — Early — first days of an infusion cycle (CRS) or with rapid cytoreduction (TLS).
Mechanism of kidney injury
Clinical presentation
Management
Risk factors
- High leukemic burden (greater CRS and TLS risk)
- Pre-existing chronic kidney disease
- Volume depletion
- Severe/high-grade CRS
Prevention
- Stepwise (cycle 1) dosing and CRS-mitigation strategies, including dexamethasone premedication per protocol
- TLS prophylaxis with vigorous hydration and rasburicase or allopurinol in high-burden disease
- Cytoreduction before initiation in very high tumor burden, and close monitoring of renal function and tumor-lysis labs during initial cycles
Renal dose adjustment
Dialyzability & ESKD dosing
Differential diagnosis
Monitoring
- Tumor lysis labs (potassium, phosphate, uric acid, calcium, creatinine) frequently during cycle 1
- Vital signs for CRS (fever, hypotension) during initiation and step-up
- Urine output and volume status
Key trials & series
- TOWER phase 3 trial (Kantarjian NEJM 2017)
- Gutgarts BBMT 2020 immune-effector-cell AKI cohort (analogous CRS-AKI)
- Cairo Br J Haematol 2010 and Howard NEJM 2011 TLS frameworks
Clinical pearls
- Blinatumomab does not poison the tubule directly—AKI is collateral damage from CRS hemodynamics and TLS.
- Cytoreduce and give TLS prophylaxis (hydration plus rasburicase) before treating high-burden ALL.
- Tocilizumab targets the IL-6 axis of severe CRS; steroids and supportive care round out management.
- Dialysis here treats TLS/AKI, not the drug—the BiTE has a ~2-hour half-life and is not removed.
Anticancer mechanism
Note
Guidelines & consensus
Each recommendation below is this atlas's faithful summary of the source, not a quotation from it — follow the PubMed link for the wording the society published. Summaries may be superseded; consult the current full text and individualize to the patient.
- ASCO (2021) — Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events in Patients Treated With Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy: ASCO GuidelineGrade toxicities by ASTCT criteria; manage CRS with supportive care escalating to tocilizumab with or without corticosteroids, and manage moderate-to-severe ICANS with corticosteroids and supportive care given potential for rapid decline.J Clin Oncol · PMID 34724386
- TLS Expert Panel (2008) — Guidelines for the management of pediatric and adult tumor lysis syndrome: an evidence-based reviewPrevention is the best management: hydration plus prophylactic rasburicase for high-risk patients, hydration plus allopurinol or rasburicase for intermediate-risk, and monitoring for low-risk; for established TLS add aggressive hydration and diuresis plus allopurinol or rasburicase for hyperuricemia. Urinary alkalinization is NOT recommended.J Clin Oncol · PMID 18509186
- TLS Consensus Panel (2010) — Recommendations for the evaluation of risk and prophylaxis of tumour lysis syndrome (TLS) in adults and children with malignant diseases: an expert TLS panel consensusStratify each patient as low/intermediate/high TLS risk using tumor type, bulk/stage, proliferation rate, baseline laboratory TLS, and renal impairment/involvement, then match prophylaxis intensity (monitoring vs allopurinol vs rasburicase) to the assigned risk level.Br J Haematol · PMID 20331465
- BCSH (2015) — Guidelines for the management of tumour lysis syndrome in adults and children with haematological malignancies on behalf of the British Committee for Standards in HaematologyRisk-adapted prophylaxis and management of TLS in haematological malignancy: hydration with allopurinol for lower-risk and rasburicase for high-risk patients, with monitoring of electrolytes and renal function to prevent and treat AKI.Br J Haematol · PMID 25876990
- Cairo-Bishop (2004) — Tumour lysis syndrome: new therapeutic strategies and classificationDefines the Cairo-Bishop criteria distinguishing laboratory TLS (>=2 metabolic abnormalities: hyperuricemia, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcemia within 3 days before to 7 days after therapy) from clinical TLS (laboratory TLS plus AKI, cardiac arrhythmia, or seizure), with a severity grading scheme adopted by subsequent guidelines.Br J Haematol · PMID 15384972
- ASTCT (2019) — ASTCT Consensus Grading for Cytokine Release Syndrome and Neurologic Toxicity Associated with Immune Effector CellsGrade CRS by fever, hypotension and hypoxia (grades 1-4) and grade ICANS using the ICE/encephalopathy score plus level of consciousness, seizures, motor findings and raised intracranial pressure/edema; this is the standard severity framework that triggers tocilizumab and corticosteroid escalation in CAR-T and bispecific antibody toxicity (the Lee 2019 consensus).Biol Blood Marrow Transplant · PMID 30592986
- ADQI (2026) — The nephrotoxic effects of anti-cancer therapies: consensus report of the 34th Acute Disease Quality Initiative workgroupProvides expert-based statements (modified Delphi) on preventing and managing cisplatin/platinum-associated AKI, including isotonic IV hydration, attention to volume status and concomitant nephrotoxins, and incorporates evidence that IV magnesium supplementation may reduce cisplatin-associated AKI; emphasizes risk stratification and standardized AKI definitions.Nat Rev Nephrol · PMID 41361704
- SIRM (2022) — SIRM-SIN-AIOM: appropriateness criteria for evaluation and prevention of renal damage in the patient undergoing contrast medium examinations-consensus statements from Italian College of Radiology (SIRM), Italian College of Nephrology (SIN) and Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM)Recommends eGFR-based renal risk assessment and pre/post-contrast isotonic saline or sodium bicarbonate hydration; advises maintaining a 5-7 day interval between iodinated contrast administration and cisplatin in cancer patients to reduce additive nephrotoxicity.Radiol Med · PMID 35303246
- KDIGO (2020) — KDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: understanding kidney impairment and solid-organ malignancies, and managing kidney cancerIdentifies platinum compounds (especially cisplatin) as leading cytotoxic causes of acute tubular injury, AKI, and electrolyte/magnesium wasting; calls for interdisciplinary onco-nephrology care, accurate GFR estimation, and individualized drug dosing in patients with reduced kidney function.Kidney Int · PMID 33126977
- KDIGO (2020) — KDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: kidney disease in hematological malignancies and the burden of cancer after kidney transplantationAddresses chemotherapy-associated AKI/CKD in hematologic cancer, GFR estimation and chemotherapy dosing in patients with reduced kidney function, and management priorities and research gaps for onco-nephrology care.Kidney Int · PMID 33276867
- ADDIKD (2025) — Integrating International Consensus Guidelines for Anticancer Drug Dosing in Kidney Dysfunction (ADDIKD) into everyday practiceProvides GRADE-based, drug-specific dose-adjustment recommendations for anticancer agents in kidney dysfunction (illustrated for methotrexate, cisplatin, carboplatin and nivolumab); the recommendations build on Part 1's standardised CKD-EPI eGFR assessment rather than Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance.EClinicalMedicine · PMID 40290844
- ADDIKD (2025) — Aligning kidney function assessment in patients with cancer to global practices in internal medicineThree consensus recommendations: assess kidney function by GFR (measured GFR or CKD-EPI eGFR), classify it using KDIGO categories, and use this uniform approach to dose anticancer drugs — moving cancer medicine away from Cockcroft-Gault estimated creatinine clearance.EClinicalMedicine · PMID 40290845
- ADDIKD (2025) — A methodology for determining dosing recommendations for anticancer drugs in patients with reduced kidney functionEstablishes that, where RCT evidence is lacking, anticancer drug dosing recommendations in kidney dysfunction should be derived by critically appraising observational literature via GRADE combined with structured international multidisciplinary consensus voting.EClinicalMedicine · PMID 40290846
- KDIGO (2013) — Diagnosis, evaluation, and management of acute kidney injury: a KDIGO summary (Part 1)Defines/stages AKI by serum creatinine and urine output; emphasizes avoiding nephrotoxins, maintaining euvolemia/perfusion, dose-adjusting drugs to kidney function, and monitoring high-risk patients — the framework applied to nephrotoxic anti-cancer agents.Crit Care · PMID 23394211
- KDIGO (2024) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease: known knowns and known unknownsEvaluate and risk-stratify CKD, manage to delay progression and its complications, and practise explicit medication management and drug stewardship — the framework the atlas's G1–G5 eGFR banding and every renal dose-adjustment recommendation sit inside. Because the guideline excludes dialysis and transplant recipients by its own statement of scope, its recommendations do not carry to those settings, where this atlas's dialyzability and post-transplant guidance rests on other sources.Kidney Int · PMID 38519239
- KDIGO (2021) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2021 Guideline for the Management of Glomerular DiseasesProvides the staging/treatment framework for drug-associated glomerular lesions (e.g., bisphosphonate- and interferon-related collapsing FSGS, VEGF-inhibitor podocytopathy/proteinuria), including immunosuppression and supportive RAAS-blockade strategies.Kidney Int · PMID 34556300
- KDIGO (2024) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of ANCA-Associated VasculitisUpdates immunosuppressive induction (rituximab/cyclophosphamide), incorporates avacopan and lower-dose or glucocorticoid-sparing regimens — the management framework for drug- and checkpoint-inhibitor-associated ANCA/pauci-immune glomerulonephritis.Kidney Int · PMID 38388147
- KDIGO (2024) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Lupus NephritisUpdates first-line lupus nephritis therapy to combination immunosuppression with the addition of belimumab or a calcineurin inhibitor (voclosporin) — informs management of immune-complex/lupus-like glomerulonephritis encountered with immunotherapy.Kidney Int · PMID 38182299
- KDIGO (2025) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy (IgAN) and Immunoglobulin A Vasculitis (IgAV)Encourages liberal kidney biopsy and stricter proteinuria control (<0.5 g/d, ideally <0.3 g/d) with RAAS blockers, SGLT2 inhibitors, and targeted-release budesonide — the framework for IgA-dominant glomerular lesions, including those triggered by immune-modulating cancer therapy.Kidney Int · PMID 40975525
References
7 peer-reviewed references. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.
- 1.Blinatumomab versus Chemotherapy for Advanced Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.Kantarjian H et al. · N Engl J Med · 2017 · PMID 28249141
- 2.Blinatumomab, a Bispecific T-cell Engager (BiTE) for CD-19 Targeted Cancer Immunotherapy: Clinical Pharmacology and Its Implications.Zhu M et al. · Clin Pharmacokinet · 2016 · PMID 27209293
- 3.Current concepts in the diagnosis and management of cytokine release syndrome.Lee DW et al. · Blood · 2014 · PMID 24876563
- 4.The tumor lysis syndrome.Howard SC et al. · N Engl J Med · 2011 · PMID 21561350
- 5.Recommendations for the evaluation of risk and prophylaxis of tumour lysis syndrome (TLS) in adults and children with malignant diseases: an expert TLS panel consensus.Cairo MS et al. · Br J Haematol · 2010 · PMID 20331465
- 6.Acute Kidney Injury after CAR-T Cell Therapy: Low Incidence and Rapid Recovery.Gutgarts V et al. · Biol Blood Marrow Transplant · 2020 · PMID 32088364
- 7.Acute Kidney Injury in Cancer Immunotherapy Recipients.Joseph A et al. · Cells · 2022 · PMID 36552755
Case reports & series (1)
The weakest rung of clinical evidence — single-patient and small-series reports, strongest first. Each carries a heuristic strength grade (A Strong / B Moderate / C Limited) inferred from its abstract and journal, not a formal appraisal. Weigh well below the primary references above.
- C1.[C · Limited]Collapsing Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis and Acute Kidney Injury Associated With Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) Therapy: A Case Report.Acharya R et al. · Kidney Med · 2021 · PMID 34939018