Hedgehog (SMO) inhibitor
Sonidegib
Odomzo · SON
Hedgehog (SMO) inhibitor · approved 2015 · 6 references
Hedgehog/SMO inhibitor distinguished by frequent creatine-kinase elevation and rare rhabdomyolysis — the path to pigment (myoglobin) nephropathy and ATN.
- Signature injury
- Acute Tubular Necrosis
- Severity
- Mild
- Reversibility
- Partially reversible
- Onset
- CK elevations during the first weeks-to-months of therapy; rhabdomyolysis-driven AKI would follow a significant muscle-injury event.
Signature kidney injury & incidence
Acute Tubular Necrosis.
Asymptomatic creatine-kinase elevation is more common with sonidegib than vismodegib (a class-distinguishing signal), and rhabdomyolysis is a labeled but rare event. Clinically significant pigment nephropathy/ATN is uncommon but is the feared renal consequence.
Source: Dummer et al., Br J Dermatol 2019 (BOLT 42-month); Lear et al., J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2017 (BOLT 30-month)
Reported injury signatures: Acute Tubular Necrosis.
Onset timing & rechallenge
Subacute (~1–6 weeks) — CK elevations over the first weeks to months; rhabdomyolysis-driven AKI follows a significant muscle-injury event.
Mechanism of kidney injury
Clinical presentation
Management
Risk factors
- Concurrent statins or other myotoxic drugs
- Strenuous exertion, dehydration or volume depletion
- Pre-existing CKD
- Older age and reduced muscle mass masking CK interpretation
Prevention
- Counsel on muscle pain/dark urine; maintain hydration
- Avoid/limit concurrent myotoxins where possible
- Hold drug for marked CK rise or muscle symptoms per label; rule out rhabdomyolysis
Renal dose adjustment
Dialyzability & ESKD dosing
Differential diagnosis
Monitoring
- Creatine kinase at baseline and periodically (and with any muscle symptoms)
- Serum creatinine, potassium and phosphate during/after a CK rise
- Urinalysis (heme-positive dip without RBCs suggests myoglobinuria)
- Volume status and urine output during suspected rhabdomyolysis
Key trials & series
- BOLT (Dummer, Br J Dermatol 2019; Lear, JEADV 2017) — pivotal phase 2 characterizing the CK-elevation/musculoskeletal signal
- Class meta-analysis (Nguyen, Am J Clin Dermatol 2023) — sonidegib > vismodegib for increased CK
Clinical pearls
- Increased creatine kinase is the lab that distinguishes sonidegib from vismodegib within the class.
- A heme-positive dipstick with no red cells on microscopy = myoglobinuria until proven otherwise.
- Aggressive early isotonic fluids are the cornerstone of preventing rhabdomyolysis-induced ATN.
- Statin co-prescription compounds myotoxicity — review the medication list.
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
6 peer-reviewed references. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.
- 1.Long-term efficacy and safety of sonidegib in patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma: 42-month analysis of the phase II randomized, double-blind BOLT study.Dummer R et al. · Br J Dermatol · 2019 · PMID 31545507
- 2.Long-term efficacy and safety of sonidegib in patients with locally advanced and metastatic basal cell carcinoma: 30-month analysis of the randomized phase 2 BOLT study.Lear JT et al. · J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol · 2017 · PMID 28846163
- 3.Efficacy and Safety of Sonic Hedgehog Inhibitors in Basal Cell Carcinomas: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2009-2022).Nguyen A et al. · Am J Clin Dermatol · 2023 · PMID 36795228
- 4.Sonidegib in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma.Sanmartin O et al. · Actas Dermosifiliogr · 2020 · PMID 33197438
- 5.Benefit-risk assessment of sonidegib and vismodegib in the treatment of locally advanced basal cell carcinoma.Garcia Ruiz AJ et al. · Drugs Context · 2022 · PMID 35912002
- 6.A Review of Hedgehog Inhibitors Sonidegib and Vismodegib for Treatment of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma.Migden M et al. · J Drugs Dermatol · 2021 · PMID 33538567