TRK inhibitor
Larotrectinib
Vitrakvi · LARO
TRK inhibitor · approved 2018 · 7 references
A tumor-agnostic TRK inhibitor whose creatinine bump is pseudo-AKI — blocked tubular secretion, not damage; check cystatin C.
- Signature injury
- Pseudo-AKI
- Severity
- Mild
- Reversibility
- Reversible
- Onset
- Early (days to weeks), stable/plateauing, and fully reversible on interruption or discontinuation.
Signature kidney injury & incidence
Pseudo-AKI.
The larotrectinib-specific creatinine effect is not separately quantified; the mechanism is extrapolated from the TKI class (the tucatinib OCT2/MATE study and crizotinib's ~21% early, reversible, secretion-driven rise). The clinically important real toxicities are hepatic (transaminase elevation) and neurologic, not renal.
Source: Drilon et al., NEJM 2018
Reported injury signatures: Pseudo-AKI.
Onset timing & rechallenge
Subacute (~1–6 weeks) — Appears early over days to weeks, stabilizes or plateaus, and is fully reversible on interruption or discontinuation.
Mechanism of kidney injury
Clinical presentation
Management
Risk factors
- Reduced baseline renal reserve (makes a small secretory shift more noticeable)
- Concurrent OCT2/MATE-inhibiting or nephrotoxic drugs
Prevention
- Recognize the pattern: a modest, stable creatinine rise in an asymptomatic patient
- Confirm with cystatin C and/or measured GFR before reacting
- Do not reflexively hold or renally dose-reduce for the isolated finding
Renal dose adjustment
Dialyzability & ESKD dosing
Differential diagnosis
Monitoring
- Periodic serum creatinine and LFTs (transaminase elevation is the main grade 3 toxicity)
- Cystatin C if creatinine rises, to distinguish pseudo-AKI from true injury
- Neurologic effects (dizziness, gait/cognition)
Key trials & series
- Pooled registrational analysis (Drilon, NEJM 2018) — phase 1, SCOUT and NAVIGATE; 75% ORR
- Expanded pooled analysis (Hong, Lancet Oncol 2020) — 79% ORR with durable safety
Clinical pearls
- A small, early, stable creatinine bump usually reflects inhibited tubular creatinine secretion, not damage — check cystatin C before reacting.
- Cystatin-C-based eGFR (or measured GFR) is the tiebreaker: normal means pseudo-AKI — reassure and continue; do not reflexively hold or renally dose-reduce.
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.
- 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.Efficacy of Larotrectinib in TRK Fusion-Positive Cancers in Adults and Children.Drilon A et al. · N Engl J Med · 2018 · PMID 29466156
- 2.Larotrectinib for paediatric solid tumours harbouring NTRK gene fusions: phase 1 results from a multicentre, open-label, phase 1/2 study.Laetsch TW et al. · Lancet Oncol · 2018 · PMID 29606586
- 3.Larotrectinib in patients with TRK fusion-positive solid tumours: a pooled analysis of three phase 1/2 clinical trials.Hong DS et al. · Lancet Oncol · 2020 · PMID 32105622
- 4.TRK Inhibition: A New Tumor-Agnostic Treatment Strategy.Kummar S et al. · Target Oncol · 2018 · PMID 30276762
- 5.Tucatinib Inhibits Renal Transporters OCT2 and MATE Without Impacting Renal Function in Healthy Subjects.Topletz-Erickson AR et al. · J Clin Pharmacol · 2020 · PMID 32989831
- 6.Renal Effects of Crizotinib in Patients With ALK-Positive Advanced NSCLC.Camidge DR et al. · J Thorac Oncol · 2019 · PMID 30822515
- 7.The renal effects of ALK inhibitors.Izzedine H et al. · Invest New Drugs · 2016 · PMID 27468827