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Platinum agent

Oxaliplatin

Eloxatin · Oxali

Platinum agent · approved 2002 · 5 references

The renal-sparing platinum — neuropathy is its hallmark, not nephrotoxicity.

Signature injury
Thrombotic Microangiopathy
Severity
Mild
Reversibility
Reversible
Onset
Acute if immune-mediated (often on re-challenge).

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Thrombotic Microangiopathy.

Lowest nephrotoxic potential of the platinums; AKI is rare and case-level, in some cases immune-mediated.

Source: Gupta et al., Adv Chronic Kidney Dis 2021

Reported injury signatures: Thrombotic Microangiopathy, Acute Tubular Necrosis.

Renal toxicity profile

  1. Thrombotic MicroangiopathyPrimaryRare, characteristic complication (drug-induced TMA/HUS with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, acute renal failure); reported in case reports, no population incidence denominator
  2. Acute Tubular NecrosisSecondaryCase-level only; ATN listed among recognized oxaliplatin nephrotoxicity forms (also tubular vacuolization, RTA, interstitial nephritis); no population incidence figure

Onset timing & rechallenge

Acute (~1–7 days) — Acute when immune-mediated, characteristically on re-challenge rather than first exposure.

Rechallenge: Contraindicated — Re-exposure after a documented immune hemolytic or TMA event is avoided — reactions recur faster and more severely.

Mechanism of kidney injury

Lower proximal tubular accumulation than cisplatin. Rare immune-mediated reactions (drug-dependent antibodies) can cause acute hemolysis with pigment/TMA AKI, classically on re-exposure.

Clinical presentation

Usually no significant renal change; peripheral neuropathy dominates. Rare acute hemolysis with hemoglobinuria and AKI.

Management

Stop drug, supportive care, transfusion if hemolysis.

Risk factors

  • Repeated exposure (immune reactions)
  • Pre-existing CKD

Prevention

  • No re-challenge after a documented immune hemolytic or TMA event — reactions recur faster and more severely

Renal dose adjustment

No dose reduction is required for mild-to-moderate impairment; the FDA label permits the standard 85 mg/m2 starting dose down to CrCl ~30 mL/min, with reduction to 65 mg/m2 advised for severe impairment (CrCl <30 mL/min). Unlike cisplatin, oxaliplatin is not directly tubulotoxic, so renal dosing is driven by accumulation of the renally-cleared platinum moiety rather than by nephrotoxicity risk. Hold or reduce for an acute rise in creatinine and reassess before re-exposure.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Ultrafilterable (protein-unbound) platinum is dialyzable, but the large fraction irreversibly bound to plasma proteins and erythrocytes is not, so hemodialysis removes only a minor portion of total platinum; data are limited to case reports. Scheduling chemotherapy a few hours before an HD session has been used pragmatically in dialysis-dependent patients, but no validated protocol exists.

Differential diagnosis

Oxaliplatin AKI is most often an immune-mediated phenomenon presenting on later cycles (acute hemolysis/oxaliplatin-induced TMA causing pigment nephropathy or hemolytic-uremic-like injury), distinguishing it from cisplatin's dose-dependent direct ATN and from gemcitabine TMA by its abrupt, antibody-driven onset tied to re-exposure. A positive DAT, intravascular hemolysis, and temporal link to infusion point to oxaliplatin rather than contrast nephropathy, pre-renal azotemia, or 5-FU/leucovorin co-medication.

Monitoring

  • Check serum creatinine/eGFR before each cycle; oxaliplatin AKI is uncommon, so a rise should prompt a search for an alternative cause (volume depletion, obstruction, contrast, concurrent nephrotoxins).
  • On re-exposure or near infusion, monitor CBC and hemoglobin for an abrupt drop plus haptoglobin, LDH, and direct antiglobulin (Coombs) test if immune hemolysis is suspected.
  • If hemolysis/thrombocytopenia appears, send a peripheral smear for schistocytes to detect drug-induced TMA and stop oxaliplatin immediately.
  • Document and watch for infusion-reaction symptoms (back pain, hemoglobinuria, hypotension), which can herald acute immune hemolysis with pigment-related AKI.
  • Track urine output and consider urinalysis for hemoglobinuria during/after infusion in patients with prior reactions.

Key trials & series

  • MOSAIC (Andre et al., NEJM 2004) - registrational adjuvant FOLFOX trial that established oxaliplatin's standard 85 mg/m2 regimen; notable for the absence of meaningful nephrotoxicity versus cisplatin-era platinums.
  • NCI Organ Dysfunction Working Group PK study (Takimoto et al., J Clin Oncol 2003) - showed unbound oxaliplatin platinum clearance falls with declining renal function yet was tolerated without added toxicity across CrCl strata, supporting limited dose adjustment in mild-moderate impairment.

Clinical pearls

  • Oxaliplatin is markedly less nephrotoxic than cisplatin - it does not require forced saline diuresis and rarely causes classic dose-dependent ATN, so a significant creatinine rise should raise suspicion for an immune or hemolytic mechanism.
  • The signature severe renal event is immune-mediated: drug-dependent antibodies trigger acute intravascular hemolysis and occasionally TMA, typically after multiple prior exposures rather than on first dose.
  • Pigment (hemoglobin) nephropathy from acute hemolysis, not direct tubular toxicity, is a key route to AKI with oxaliplatin.
  • Rechallenge after a documented immune hemolytic or TMA event is contraindicated - reactions recur faster and more severely.
  • Because platinum binds plasma proteins and red cells, total platinum persists for months; this complicates interpretation of levels and limits the utility of dialysis for clearance.

Anticancer mechanism

DACH-platinum forming DNA cross-links; the backbone of FOLFOX colorectal regimens.

Note

Often the platinum of choice in established CKD.

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) — Conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy-associated nephrotoxicity: consensus report of the 34th Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) WorkgroupCisplatin is identified as a leading cytotoxic nephrotoxin; the workgroup details preventive measures (adequate isotonic hydration, correction of volume depletion, avoidance of concurrent nephrotoxins, attention to electrolyte/magnesium wasting) and management of cisplatin-associated AKI, with a research agenda for knowledge gaps.Kidney Int · PMID 41881107
  • Expert Consensus (2022) — The Prevention of Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity: A General Consensus Statement of a Group of Oncologist-Hematologists, Adult and Pediatric Nephrologists, Radiation Oncologists, Clinical Pathologists, Clinical Pharmacologists, and Renal Physiologists on Cisplatin Therapy in Cancer PatientsConsensus on modifiable factors for cisplatin nephrotoxicity prevention, addressing hydration methods, magnesium supplementation, dextrose, avoidance of NSAIDs and renin-angiotensin system inhibitors and contrast agents around cisplatin, GFR assessment, antioxidants, and patient factors (age, sex, female hormones).Int J Prev Med · PMID 35392316
  • 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. 1.Oxaliplatin-associated nephrotoxicity: clinical patterns, renal pharmacokinetics, and mechanistic insights.Chetia A et al · Cancer Chemother Pharmacol · 2026 · PMID 42118356
  2. 2.Biopsy-proven first dose of oxaliplatin-induced acute tubular necrosis leading to end-stage renal failure: a case report.Soma Y et al. · BMC Nephrol · 2023 · PMID 36978021
  3. 3.Oxaliplatin-induced renal tubular vacuolization.Joybari AY et al. · Ann Pharmacother · 2014 · PMID 24615628
  4. 4.Nephrotoxicity as a Complication of Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer, Melanoma and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Jagieła J et al. · Int J Mol Sci · 2021 · PMID 33924827
  5. 5.Conventional Chemotherapy Nephrotoxicity.Gupta S et al. · Adv Chronic Kidney Dis · 2021 · PMID 35190107

Case reports & series (5)

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]A case of biopsy-proven oxaliplatin-induced acute tubulointerstitial nephritis with thrombocytopenia and anemia.Yamada S et al. · CEN Case Rep · 2019 · PMID 30827015
  2. C2.[B · Moderate]Oxaliplatin induced acute tubular necrosis.Jain A et al. · Indian J Cancer · 2015 · PMID 26905139
  3. C3.[C · Limited]Oxaliplatin-induced thrombotic microangiopathy: a case report.Saad R et al. · J Med Case Rep · 2022 · PMID 35303936
  4. C4.[C · Limited]Renal toxicity of oxaliplatin.Labaye J et al. · Nephrol Dial Transplant · 2005 · PMID 15827046
  5. C5.[C · Limited]Oxaliplatin-Induced Thrombotic Microangiopathy in a Patient with Stage IV Gallbladder Carcinoma: Primary Association or Multiple Hits?Fuentes-Lacouture MC et al. · Case Rep Oncol · 2020 · PMID 33173484

Conference abstracts (1) — non-PubMed, no PMID

  1. A1.Oxaliplatin-Induced HypomagnesemiaKhanin Y, Sachdeva M, Uppal NN · ASN Kidney Week 2020 · PUB216Profound renal magnesium wasting from oxaliplatin (serum Mg 0.8 mg/dL with a fractional excretion confirming renal loss) precipitated atrial fibrillation — extending the platinum-class distal-tubular magnesium leak, classically attributed to cisplatin, to oxaliplatin.
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.