ALK TKI
Ensartinib
Ensacove · ALK TKI; pseudo-AKI
ALK TKI · approved 2024 · 5 references
ALK TKI carrying the ALK-class renal signature of benign creatinine rise and possible renal cysts
- Signature injury
- Pseudo-AKI
- Severity
- Mild
- Reversibility
- Variable
- Onset
- A benign creatinine rise tends to appear early and stabilize; cyst development in the ALK-TKI class is generally a later, cumulative imaging finding over months of therapy.
Signature kidney injury & incidence
Pseudo-AKI — representative incidence ~35.4%.
Renal-specific incidence for ensartinib is not separately quantified; in the eXalt3 phase 3 trial serious adverse events, dose reductions, and discontinuations were similar to crizotinib with no new safety signals, and edema and a creatinine rise are described for ensartinib. The renal signature is therefore class-extrapolated from the ALK TKIs, where crizotinib is the index agent for both a benign reduced-tubular-secretion creatinine rise and the development/progression of renal cysts. No defined ensartinib-attributable kidney lesion or incidence rate is established. Reported rate: creatinine elevation in 35.4% — 48 patients with advanced ALK- or ROS1-positive NSCLC enrolled at 2 centers in China and treated with single-agent oral… (Ma 2022, PMID 36647478).
Source: Ma et al., J Thorac Dis 2022
Reported injury signatures: Pseudo-AKI, Renal Cysts, Electrolyte Disturbance.
Renal toxicity profile
- Pseudo-AKIPrimary
- Renal CystsSecondary
- Electrolyte DisturbanceSecondary
Onset timing & rechallenge
Variable / unpredictable — The benign creatinine rise appears early and stabilizes, whereas ALK-TKI cyst development is a later cumulative finding over months.
Mechanism of kidney injury
Clinical presentation
Management
Risk factors
- Pre-existing chronic kidney disease or pre-existing renal cysts
- Concurrent nephrotoxins or other tubular-secretion inhibitors
- Volume depletion
- Longer duration of ALK-TKI exposure (for cyst development)
Prevention
- Maintain euvolemia and monitor for edema and electrolyte shifts
Renal dose adjustment
Dialyzability & ESKD dosing
Differential diagnosis
Monitoring
- Serum creatinine at baseline and periodically
- Cystatin C-based eGFR or measured GFR when a creatinine rise needs adjudication
- Surveillance cross-sectional imaging reviewed for renal cysts
- Volume status, peripheral edema, and electrolytes
Key trials & series
- eXalt3 (NCT02767804; Horn et al., JAMA Oncol 2021): randomized phase 3 of ensartinib vs crizotinib in ALK-inhibitor-naive ALK-positive NSCLC; median PFS 25.8 vs 12.7 months (HR 0.51) with superior intracranial control and a safety profile similar to crizotinib with no new signals
Clinical pearls
- Anchor ensartinib's renal story to the crizotinib precedent: benign creatinine rise from reduced tubular secretion plus the possibility of renal cysts.
- Review surveillance scans for new or enlarging renal cysts, an ALK-class-specific finding that true injury labs will not capture.
Anticancer mechanism
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
5 peer-reviewed references. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.
- 1.Ensartinib in advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer: a multicenter, open-label, two-staged, phase 1 trialMa Y et al. · J Thorac Dis · 2022 · PMID 36647478
- 2.Ensartinib vs Crizotinib for Patients With Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Horn L, Wang Z, Wu G, et al. · JAMA Oncol · 2021 · PMID 34473194
- 3.The renal effects of ALK inhibitors.Izzedine H, El-Fekih RK, Perazella MA · Invest New Drugs · 2016 · PMID 27468827
- 4.Tucatinib Inhibits Renal Transporters OCT2 and MATE Without Impacting Renal Function in Healthy Subjects.Topletz-Erickson AR, Lee AJ, Mayor JG, et al. · J Clin Pharmacol · 2020 · PMID 32989831
- 5.Targeting ROS1 rearrangements in non-small cell lung cancer: Current insights and future directions.Desilets A, Repetto M, Yang SR, Drilon A · Cancer · 2025 · PMID 40171848