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Gamma-secretase inhibitor

Nirogacestat

Ogsiveo · Niro

Gamma-secretase inhibitor · approved 2023 · 6 references

A gamma-secretase inhibitor for desmoid tumors — watch phosphate and electrolytes.

Signature injury
Electrolyte Disturbance
Severity
Mild
Reversibility
Reversible
Onset
During therapy; not well characterized.

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Electrolyte Disturbance — representative incidence ~42%.

Hypophosphatemia occurred in 42% of nirogacestat-treated patients in the DeFi trial, alongside other electrolyte disturbances; the characteristic DeFi-trial toxicities were diarrhea, rash, nausea, fatigue and ovarian dysfunction. Beyond the phosphate signal, renal-specific incidence is not well quantified.

Source: Gounder et al., N Engl J Med 2023 (DeFi, hypophosphatemia 42%)

Reported injury signatures: Electrolyte Disturbance, Fanconi Syndrome.

Renal toxicity profile

  1. Electrolyte DisturbancePrimary~42%hypophosphatemia 42% (DeFi phase 3)
  2. Fanconi SyndromeSecondary

Onset timing & rechallenge

Variable / unpredictable — Occurs during therapy but is not well characterized.

Mechanism of kidney injury

Gamma-secretase/Notch signaling participates in epithelial differentiation and mineral/phosphate homeostasis; its inhibition is postulated to perturb proximal-tubular electrolyte and phosphate handling, producing hypophosphatemia and other electrolyte shifts (a partial proximal-tubular/Fanconi-like phenotype is the conceptual concern). Robust nephron-level human data are lacking, so characterization is conservative and class/electrolyte-based rather than tied to a defined tubular lesion. Diarrhea-related volume/electrolyte loss can compound the picture.

Clinical presentation

Hypophosphatemia and other electrolyte abnormalities on labs; if a proximal-tubular pattern occurs, low phosphate with phosphaturia and possibly glucosuria/aminoaciduria. Serum creatinine is usually preserved.

Management

Electrolyte and phosphate repletion; supportive care for diarrhea-related losses; dose interruption/modification per label for significant toxicity. No specific renal antidote; abnormalities are generally reversible.

Risk factors

  • Baseline electrolyte/phosphate disturbance
  • Concurrent diarrhea/volume loss
  • Pre-existing CKD
  • Poor oral intake

Prevention

  • Oral phosphate/electrolyte repletion as needed
  • Hydration during diarrhea
  • Address contributing GI toxicity early

Renal dose adjustment

No established renal dose adjustment; not studied in significant renal impairment. Modify dose for GI/dermatologic toxicity per label rather than for GFR. CYP3A interactions apply.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Hepatically metabolized small molecule; dialyzability not characterized and not the management focus. In advanced CKD, monitor and replete electrolytes/phosphate.

Differential diagnosis

Drug-related hypophosphatemia/electrolyte shift vs diarrhea-driven losses vs a true proximal-tubular (Fanconi) pattern (which would add glucosuria/aminoaciduria/normoglycemic phosphaturia); urine studies clarify if creatinine or phosphate handling is unexpectedly abnormal.

Monitoring

  • Serum phosphate, potassium, magnesium and bicarbonate periodically
  • Stool frequency and volume status during diarrhea

Key trials & series

  • DeFi (Gounder NEJM 2023) phase III in progressing desmoid tumors

Clinical pearls

  • Monitor phosphate — hypophosphatemia is the most consistent renal-relevant lab finding with this gamma-secretase inhibitor.
  • There is no defined nephrotoxic lesion; the kidney shows up as electrolyte/phosphate disturbance, often reversible with repletion.
  • Diarrhea is common — distinguish GI-driven electrolyte loss from a primary tubular effect.
  • Ovarian dysfunction and skin/GI toxicity dominate the overall profile; renal issues are secondary.

Anticancer mechanism

Oral gamma-secretase inhibitor that blocks the regulated intramembrane proteolysis of Notch (and other gamma-secretase substrates), preventing release of the Notch intracellular domain and downstream transcription. In desmoid tumors (aggressive fibromatosis), Notch-pathway suppression drives the antitumor effect.

Note

Renal involvement is limited to electrolyte/phosphate disturbance; there is no established intrinsic nephrotoxic lesion. The phosphate signal warrants periodic monitoring even though a defined Fanconi syndrome has not been characterized for this agent.

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.Nirogacestat, a gamma-Secretase Inhibitor for Desmoid Tumors.Gounder M et al. · N Engl J Med · 2023 · PMID 36884323
  2. 2.Conventional Chemotherapy Nephrotoxicity.Gupta S et al. · Adv Chronic Kidney Dis · 2021 · PMID 35190107
  3. 3.Examining nirogacestat for adults with progressing desmoid tumors who require systemic treatment.Campos F et al. · Expert Opin Pharmacother · 2024 · PMID 39414771
  4. 4.Renal Side Effects of Novel Molecular Targeted Oncologic Agents.Fenoglio R et al. · G Ital Nefrol · 2023 · PMID 38007829
  5. 5.Adverse kidney effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors.Izzedine H et al. · Nephrol Dial Transplant · 2017 · PMID 28339780
  6. 6.Current Trends in Anti-Cancer Molecular Targeted Therapies: Renal Complications and Their Histological Features.Tonooka A et al. · J Nippon Med Sch · 2021 · PMID 34840210

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.[C · Limited]Nirogacestat and Hypophosphatemia.Gudsoorkar P et al. · Kidney Int Rep · 2023 · PMID 37441471
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.