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VEGFR TKI

Regorafenib

Stivarga · Rego

VEGFR TKI · approved 2012 · 7 references

An oral multikinase inhibitor that delivers the familiar antiangiogenic toll of hypertension and proteinuria.

Signature injury
Hypertension
Severity
Moderate
Reversibility
Reversible
Onset
Within the first weeks of therapy.

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Hypertension — representative incidence ~36.8% (29.8–43.8% 95% CI).

Hypertension is common and frequently grade 3. Pooling 3,813 patients across the cardiovascular-event literature puts all-grade hypertension at 36.8% (95% CI 29.8-43.8%) and high-grade at 9.9% (7.4-12.4%), against controls a relative risk of 4.10 all-grade and 5.82 high-grade. An earlier, smaller meta-analysis of 1,069 patients from five trials (750 on regorafenib) ran higher at 44.4% (30.8-59.0%) all-grade and 12.5% (5.2-27.1%) high-grade, with wider intervals; the CORRECT trial itself reported about 28% (grade 3 ~7%). Proteinuria also occurs as a VEGF-pathway class effect, but is not separately quantified for this agent.

Source: Chen et al., Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 (PMID 30313066); Wang et al., Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2014 (PMID 24150533); Grothey et al., CORRECT (Lancet 2013)

Reported injury signatures: Hypertension, Glomerular Injury / Proteinuria.

Renal toxicity profile

  1. HypertensionPrimary~44.4%All-grade hypertension 44.4% (95% CI 30.8-59.0), high-grade 12.5%, in a meta-analysis of 5 trials (n=1,069); RR 3.76 vs control. The signature VEGF-pathway toxicity.
  2. Glomerular Injury / ProteinuriaSecondary

Onset timing & rechallenge

Subacute (~1–6 weeks) — Within the first weeks of therapy.

Mechanism of kidney injury

VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition lowers glomerular VEGF and nitric-oxide signaling, raising vascular tone (hypertension) and injuring the glomerular filtration barrier (proteinuria), with potential for a podocytopathy (FSGS/MCD pattern) and, less commonly, renal TMA.

Clinical presentation

New or worsening hypertension and proteinuria, typically within the first weeks; creatinine may rise in more severe cases. Hand-foot skin reaction and transaminitis commonly co-occur and help flag class toxicity.

Management

Antihypertensive therapy (ACE inhibitor/ARB favored); interrupt or dose-reduce per label for grade 3 hypertension or significant proteinuria; discontinue for nephrotic syndrome, hypertensive crisis or TMA. Effects generally improve with dose modification or withdrawal.

Risk factors

  • Pre-existing hypertension
  • Baseline proteinuria or CKD

Prevention

  • Blood pressure control before and during therapy

Renal dose adjustment

No dose adjustment for renal impairment is recommended; regorafenib is hepatically metabolized (CYP3A4 and UGT1A9) with biliary excretion, so it carries hepatotoxicity warnings rather than renal dosing rules.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Highly protein-bound (~99.5%) and hepatically/biliary cleared; not appreciably dialyzable, so no supplemental dosing for HD. Data in ESKD are limited.

Differential diagnosis

VEGFR-TKI hypertension/proteinuria/podocytopathy versus prerenal AKI versus baseline nephropathy. Within the colorectal-cancer setting, also consider overlapping toxicity from concurrent or prior antiangiogenic therapy (bevacizumab/aflibercept).

Monitoring

  • Blood pressure weekly for the first cycle, then regularly
  • Urine protein (dipstick/UPCR) before each cycle
  • Liver enzymes/bilirubin (boxed hepatotoxicity warning) and serum creatinine

Key trials & series

  • CORRECT phase III (regorafenib in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer) — hypertension a leading AE
  • GRID (GIST) and RESORCE (HCC) — hypertension/proteinuria safety signals

Clinical pearls

  • Regorafenib's renal toxicity is a class effect; expect early hypertension and watch urine protein.
  • Its boxed warning is hepatotoxicity — liver monitoring is as important as renal monitoring.
  • No renal dose adjustment is needed, but grade 3 hypertension or heavy proteinuria should trigger interruption/dose reduction.

Anticancer mechanism

Oral multikinase inhibitor (a fluorinated sorafenib analog) targeting VEGFR1-3, TIE2, KIT, RET, RAF-1, BRAF and PDGFR, simultaneously inhibiting angiogenic, stromal and oncogenic signaling. Used in metastatic colorectal cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumor and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Note

Renal effects mirror the VEGF-pathway class; quantitative renal data specific to regorafenib are limited and largely extrapolated from the class and from trial adverse-event tables.

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.

  • KDIGO (2021) — Management of Blood Pressure in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Not Receiving Dialysis: Synopsis of the 2021 KDIGO Clinical Practice GuidelineRecommends standardized office BP measurement and a target systolic BP <120 mm Hg for most CKD patients, with RAAS inhibitors first-line when albuminuria is present — the BP-management basis for anti-VEGF/TKI-induced hypertension and proteinuria.Ann Intern Med · PMID 34152826
  • ESC (2022) — 2022 ESC Guidelines on cardio-oncology developed in collaboration with the European Hematology Association (EHA), the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) and the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS)For VEGF/VEGFR inhibitors, perform baseline cardiovascular risk assessment, monitor blood pressure (weekly during the first cycle, then regularly) and treat to a target <140/90 mmHg with ACE inhibitors/ARBs and dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers; manage VEGFi-associated hypertension and proteinuria with interruption/dose modification when severe.Eur Heart J · PMID 36017568
  • ESC (2022) — European Society of Cardiology quality indicators for the prevention and management of cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity in cancer treatmentAdherence quality indicators require documented baseline cardiovascular risk assessment and structured monitoring of cardiovascular complications (including hypertension) during cancer therapy such as VEGF-pathway inhibitors.Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes · PMID 36316010
  • UK Consensus Panel (2010) — Using bevacizumab to treat metastatic cancer: UK consensus guidelinesAssess and monitor blood pressure and proteinuria during bevacizumab therapy; treat emergent hypertension to standard targets and interrupt/discontinue the drug for uncontrolled hypertension, nephrotic-range proteinuria or other severe vascular toxicity.Br J Hosp Med (Lond) · PMID 21135762
  • 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. 1.Risk of regorafenib-induced cardiovascular events in patients with solid tumors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Chen J et al. · Medicine (Baltimore) · 2018 · PMID 30313066
  2. 2.Risk of hypertension with regorafenib in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Wang Z et al. · Eur J Clin Pharmacol · 2014 · PMID 24150533
  3. 3.Therapeutic Inhibition of VEGF Signaling and Associated Nephrotoxicities.Estrada CC et al. · J Am Soc Nephrol · 2019 · PMID 30642877
  4. 4.[Regorafenib versus S-1 plus Bevacizumab for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer as Salvage Line-A Phase II Study (OGSG1301)].Kodama H et al. · Gan To Kagaku Ryoho · 2021 · PMID 34657055
  5. 5.The Role of Angiogenesis Inhibitors in Hypertension: Following "Ariadne's Thread".Sanidas E et al. · Am J Hypertens · 2018 · PMID 29788148
  6. 6.Proteinuria and hypertension in patients treated with inhibitors of the VEGF signalling pathway--incidence, mechanisms and management.Tesarova P et al. · Folia Biol (Praha) · 2013 · PMID 23537524
  7. 7.[Nephrotoxicity of anti-angiogenesis drugs].Grechukhina KS et al. · Ter Arkh · 2020 · PMID 33346501

Case reports & series (3)

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.[A · Strong]Clinicopathological analysis of anti-VEGF drug-associated renal thrombotic microangiopathy: A case series and review of the literature.Han Q et al. · Pathol Res Pract · 2025 · PMID 39879682
  2. C2.[B · Moderate]Regorafenib-induced renal-limited thrombotic microangiopathy: a case report and review of literatures.Yin Q et al. · BMC Nephrol · 2022 · PMID 35305559
  3. C3.[C · Limited]Lupus-Like Glomerulonephritis Associated With Regorafenib, a Multikinase Inhibitor.Strasma A et al. · Kidney Med · 2021 · PMID 33851126
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.