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FLT3 inhibitor

Gilteritinib

Xospata · GIL

FLT3 inhibitor · approved 2018 · 6 references

Potent FLT3 inhibitor whose differentiation syndrome and tumor lysis are the renal threats — plus a boxed/labeled risk of PRES.

Signature injury
Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI
Severity
Moderate
Reversibility
Reversible
Onset
Differentiation syndrome from a few days up to ~3 months (often within the first month); TLS early; PRES variable.

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI.

Differentiation syndrome (boxed warning) occurs in roughly 3% of treated patients and can cause capillary leak, fluid overload and renal dysfunction; tumor lysis and PRES are labeled risks. Discrete AKI incidence is not separately quantified and is largely a consequence of these syndromes.

Source: Perl et al., N Engl J Med 2019 (ADMIRAL); Pulte et al., Clin Cancer Res 2021 (FDA summary)

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

Renal toxicity profile

  1. Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKIPrimary
  2. Electrolyte DisturbanceSecondary

Onset timing & rechallenge

Acute (~1–7 days) — Tumor lysis is early; differentiation syndrome runs from a few days to ~3 months.

Mechanism of kidney injury

Gilteritinib's renal threats are syndrome-driven. (1) Differentiation syndrome: rapid myeloblast differentiation releases inflammatory cytokines, producing fever, capillary-leak edema, pleural/pericardial effusions, hypotension and acute kidney injury (a mix of prerenal hypoperfusion and intrarenal inflammatory injury). (2) Tumor lysis syndrome: cytoreduction releases uric acid, phosphate and potassium, causing urate and calcium-phosphate crystal nephropathy with intratubular obstruction and ATN. (3) Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), a labeled risk, reflects endothelial dysfunction/hypertension. Volume shifts in differentiation syndrome can be both prerenal (capillary leak) and overload.

Clinical presentation

Differentiation syndrome: dyspnea, fever, weight gain/edema, effusions, hypotension and rising creatinine days-to-weeks after starting. TLS: hyperuricemia, hyperphosphatemia, hyperkalemia, hypocalcemia and AKI early in treatment. PRES: headache, seizures, visual change and hypertension with characteristic MRI findings.

Management

For differentiation syndrome: start corticosteroids (e.g. dexamethasone 10 mg q12h), give diuretics for fluid overload, and interrupt gilteritinib if severe; support kidney function. For TLS: aggressive IV hydration, rasburicase for hyperuricemia, correct electrolytes, and dialyze for refractory metabolic derangement. For PRES: control blood pressure, treat seizures and hold the drug; it is typically reversible.

Risk factors

  • High leukemic burden/blast count (differentiation syndrome and TLS)
  • Pre-existing CKD and concurrent nephrotoxins
  • Hypertension (PRES)
  • Rapid responders early in therapy

Prevention

  • Patient/clinician vigilance for differentiation-syndrome symptoms; treat early with dexamethasone
  • TLS prophylaxis: hydration plus allopurinol or rasburicase based on risk
  • Blood-pressure control and prompt evaluation of neurologic symptoms (PRES)

Renal dose adjustment

No dose adjustment for mild-moderate renal impairment; severe impairment/ESKD not well studied (predominantly hepatic CYP3A4 metabolism). Manage interruptions for differentiation syndrome/TLS/PRES rather than by GFR.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Highly protein-bound; not appreciably dialyzable. Dialysis is used for TLS metabolic complications, not drug removal.

Differential diagnosis

Distinguish differentiation-syndrome AKI (capillary leak, effusions, responds to steroids) from sepsis/ATN, TLS crystalline nephropathy (early hyperuricemia/hyperphosphatemia), and prerenal azotemia. PRES is identified by neurologic features and MRI, separating it from metabolic encephalopathy.

Monitoring

  • Blood chemistries (potassium, phosphate, uric acid, creatinine) frequently, especially in the first cycle
  • Daily weight and assessment for edema/effusions (differentiation syndrome)
  • ECG/QTc at baseline, days 8 and 15 of cycle 1, then periodically
  • Blood pressure and neurologic status (PRES surveillance)

Key trials & series

  • ADMIRAL (Perl, NEJM 2019) — registrational RCT establishing survival benefit and the differentiation-syndrome/PRES safety profile
  • FDA approval summary (Pulte, Clin Cancer Res 2021) — codifies boxed differentiation-syndrome warning and PRES/QT/pancreatitis warnings

Clinical pearls

  • Differentiation syndrome is the boxed warning — start dexamethasone early and don't wait for full-blown organ failure.
  • Gilteritinib carries a distinct labeled PRES risk; new headache/seizure/visual change with hypertension is PRES until proven otherwise.
  • Tumor lysis is an early-treatment renal hazard — risk-stratify and pre-treat with hydration +/- rasburicase.
  • Frequent electrolyte and ECG monitoring is mandated by the label.

Anticancer mechanism

Oral selective inhibitor of FLT3 (including ITD and TKD/D835 mutations) and AXL. By blocking constitutively active FLT3 signaling it induces remission in relapsed/refractory FLT3-mutated AML — and, by relieving the maturation block, drives myeloblast differentiation.

Note

The renal link is indirect but important: AKI arises from differentiation syndrome (capillary leak/inflammation), tumor lysis (crystalline nephropathy) and the labeled PRES, rather than a primary tubular drug toxicity.

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

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

  1. 1.Gilteritinib or Chemotherapy for Relapsed or Refractory FLT3-Mutated AML.Perl AE et al. · N Engl J Med · 2019 · PMID 31665578
  2. 2.FDA Approval Summary: Gilteritinib for Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia with a FLT3 Mutation.Pulte ED et al. · Clin Cancer Res · 2021 · PMID 33632926
  3. 3.Gilteritinib: A Review in Relapsed or Refractory FLT3-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.Kang C et al. · Target Oncol · 2020 · PMID 32940858
  4. 4.Prevention and Treatment of Tumor Lysis Syndrome in the Era of Onco-Nephrology Progress.Matuszkiewicz-Rowinska J et al. · Kidney Blood Press Res · 2020 · PMID 32998135
  5. 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. 6.KDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: kidney disease in hematological malignancies and the burden of cancer after kidney transplantation.Malyszko J et al. · Kidney Int · 2020 · PMID 33276867

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.

  1. C1.[B · Moderate]Post-transplantation gilteritinib maintenance therapy and therapeutic drug monitoring in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia with FLT3-internal tandem duplication.Yanagimachi M et al. · Cancer Chemother Pharmacol · 2026 · PMID 41554949
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.