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Antibody-drug conjugate (Nectin-4/MMAE)

Enfortumab vedotin

Padcev · EV

Antibody-drug conjugate (Nectin-4/MMAE) · approved 2019 · 8 references

A Nectin-4/MMAE conjugate for bladder cancer — usable in renal impairment, with a hyperglycemia-AKI spectrum and case-level tubular injury.

Signature injury
Acute Tubular Necrosis
Severity
Moderate
Reversibility
Variable
Onset
Variable; tubular/prerenal AKI tracks with intercurrent GI toxicity, and hyperglycemic-AKI events are often reported after the second or third dose.

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Acute Tubular Necrosis.

Renal injury is not a prominent or well-quantified trial signal, and EV is usable across the spectrum of renal function (including eGFR <30). When AKI occurs it spans prerenal (GI-toxicity dehydration), hyperglycemia/DKA-associated, and case-level tubular (ATN) patterns. In EV-201 cohort 2, three of 89 patients had treatment-related deaths within 30 days (one each from AKI, metabolic acidosis and multi-organ dysfunction), underscoring a real but uncommon acute renal-metabolic risk.

Source: Yu et al., Lancet Oncol 2021 (EV-201 cohort 2)

Reported injury signatures: Acute Tubular Necrosis, Electrolyte Disturbance, Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI.

Renal toxicity profile

  1. Acute Tubular NecrosisPrimary
  2. Electrolyte DisturbanceSecondary
  3. Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKISecondary

Onset timing & rechallenge

Variable / unpredictable — Tubular/prerenal AKI tracks intercurrent GI toxicity; hyperglycemic-AKI events often after the second or third dose.

Mechanism of kidney injury

MMAE-based ADCs can be taken up off-target by proximal tubular cells and disrupt microtubules, giving a tubular/ATN-pattern picture. Clinically, two added drivers dominate: (1) volume depletion from diarrhea/nausea producing prerenal and ischemic tubular injury, and (2) EV-associated hyperglycemia/diabetic ketoacidosis (a labeled, sometimes fatal effect, disproportionate in patients with elevated BMI) that can drive osmotic diuresis, volume loss and oliguric AKI. The direct human renal mechanism remains incompletely characterized.

Clinical presentation

Often preserved renal function. When AKI occurs: tubular-pattern injury with bland-to-granular sediment, sometimes with electrolyte disturbances; or abrupt hyperglycemia/DKA (severe hyperglycemia, high insulin requirement, ketoacidosis) with oliguric AKI that may require continuous renal replacement therapy. The reported DKA cases progressed rapidly.

Management

Hold for significant AKI or hyperglycemia; rehydrate, correct electrolytes, and treat hyperglycemia/DKA aggressively (insulin, fluids, ICU-level care for ketoacidosis); continuous renal replacement therapy for severe oliguric AKI. The ~3-4 day terminal half-life of EV informs the duration of supportive measures. Resume per tolerance.

Risk factors

  • Volume depletion from diarrhea/nausea
  • Hyperglycemia, pre-existing diabetes or elevated BMI
  • Pre-existing CKD
  • Concurrent nephrotoxins

Prevention

  • Baseline glucose screening and diabetes optimization before the first dose
  • Maintain hydration and manage GI toxicity promptly

Renal dose adjustment

No starting-dose adjustment for mild-moderate renal impairment; per label, the recommended dose has been administered to patients with CrCl >=15 mL/min, and the drug is used in real-world practice at eGFR <30. Limited data in ESKD/dialysis. The cytotoxic exposure is the released MMAE (hepatically metabolized via CYP3A4), not renally cleared parent ADC.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

The intact ADC and protein-bound MMAE are not meaningfully dialyzed; HD is used to support AKI/metabolic complications, not to remove the drug. Terminal half-life ~3.4 days guides how long toxicity (e.g., refractory hyperglycemia) may persist.

Differential diagnosis

Separate prerenal AKI (GI losses, fluid-responsive) from hyperglycemia/DKA-driven AKI (check glucose, ketones, anion gap in every EV patient with new AKI) and from intrinsic MMAE tubular injury (granular casts, persistent after volume repletion).

Monitoring

  • Blood glucose before each dose and during treatment (DKA risk)
  • Skin exam and neurologic exam (dominant labeled toxicities) alongside renal review
  • Serum creatinine and electrolytes each cycle

Key trials & series

  • EV-301 (Rosenberg, phase III vs chemotherapy)
  • EV-201 cohort 2 (Yu, Lancet Oncol 2021 — treatment-related AKI/metabolic-acidosis deaths)
  • UNITE real-world cohort (use at eGFR <30)

Clinical pearls

  • Always check glucose and ketones when an EV patient presents with AKI — EV-associated DKA can be fulminant and fatal within days, even without known diabetes.
  • EV is one of the few cytotoxics genuinely usable at eGFR <30, because the active payload is hepatically (not renally) cleared.
  • Most EV AKI is prerenal/metabolic and reversible; true MMAE tubular injury is a case-level diagnosis.

Anticancer mechanism

Antibody-drug conjugate targeting Nectin-4 and delivering the microtubule inhibitor monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) via a protease-cleavable linker. Approved for locally advanced/metastatic urothelial carcinoma (as monotherapy and with pembrolizumab).

Note

EV can be given across the spectrum of renal function, including eGFR <30; a direct nephrotoxic signal is emerging and not well quantified. Skin reactions, neuropathy and hyperglycemia dominate the labeled toxicity profile, and the hyperglycemia-AKI axis is the highest-stakes renal-metabolic risk.

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.

  • 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

8 peer-reviewed references. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.

  1. 1.Impact of Impaired Renal Function on the Efficacy and Safety of Enfortumab Vedotin Monotherapy in a Multicenter Real-World Cohort of Patients With Metastatic Urothelial Cancer: YUSHIMA Study.Fukushima H, Nakamura Y, Tanaka H, Numao N, et al · Clin Genitourin Cancer · 2025 · PMID 40976757
  2. 2.EV-301 long-term outcomes: 24-month findings from the phase III trial of enfortumab vedotin versus chemotherapy in patients with previously treated advanced urothelial carcinoma.Rosenberg JE et al. · Ann Oncol · 2023 · PMID 37678672
  3. 3.Enfortumab vedotin after PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors in cisplatin-ineligible patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (EV-201): a multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial.Yu EY et al. · Lancet Oncol · 2021 · PMID 33991512
  4. 4.Diabetic Ketoacidosis and Acute Kidney Injury Associated With Enfortumab Vedotin for Urothelial Carcinoma: A Case Report.Atemnkeng F et al. · Kidney Med · 2023 · PMID 38028029
  5. 5.Enfortumab Vedotin-Induced Febrile Neutropenia and Hyperglycemia Successfully Treated with Multidisciplinary Treatment Including Continuous Hemodialysis Filtration and Insulin Injection in a Patient with Chemo-Resistant Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma: A Case Report.Otsuka A et al. · Case Rep Oncol · 2024 · PMID 39144238
  6. 6.Efficacy of enfortumab vedotin in advanced urothelial cancer: Analysis from the Urothelial Cancer Network to Investigate Therapeutic Experiences (UNITE) study.Koshkin VS et al. · Cancer · 2021 · PMID 34882781
  7. 7.Enfortumab Vedotin in urothelial cancer.Alt M et al. · Ther Adv Urol · 2020 · PMID 33447264
  8. 8.Antibody-Drug Conjugates: The Toxicities and Adverse Effects That Emergency Physicians Must Know.Markides DM et al. · Ann Emerg Med · 2024 · PMID 39641680

Case reports & series (2)

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.

  1. C1.[C · Limited]Enfortumab Vedotin-Induced Diabetic Ketoacidosis and Acute Tubulointerstitial Nephritis Requiring Intensive Care in the Treatment of Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma: A Case Report.Matsui R et al. · Case Rep Oncol · 2025 · PMID 40487556
  2. C2.[C · Limited]Case report: Enfortumab vedotin induced refractory DKA and multi organ failure - a rare fatal adverse event.Kapoor AK et al. · Front Oncol · 2024 · PMID 38425338

Conference abstracts (2) — non-PubMed, no PMID

  1. A1.Enfortumab-Vedotin as a Cause of Severe Acute Interstitial NephritisASN Kidney Week 2022 · SA-PO037Biopsy-proven severe acute interstitial nephritis (creatinine to 6.2 mg/dL) with infusion-tracked rise-and-fall eosinophilia, attributed to the Nectin-4 MMAE antibody-drug conjugate; recovered with steroids and drug discontinuation. Reported as the first AIN case with enfortumab vedotin.
  2. A2.Enfortumab Vedotin-Induced Diabetic Ketoacidosis and AKI: A Case ReportASN Kidney Week 2021 · PO1883Fatal AKI with granular casts (tubular injury) one week after enfortumab vedotin, alongside diabetic ketoacidosis and toxic epidermal necrolysis; Nectin-4 is expressed on renal tubular epithelium, raising the possibility of direct tubular toxicity beyond the metabolic insult.
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.