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Oral fluoropyrimidine + TP inhibitor

Trifluridine/tipiracil

Lonsurf · FTD-TPI

Oral fluoropyrimidine + TP inhibitor · approved 2015 · 4 references

An oral fluoropyrimidine combo whose tipiracil component accumulates as the kidney fails — driving cytopenias.

Signature injury
Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI
Severity
Moderate
Reversibility
Reversible
Onset
Within the first one to two cycles, especially early severe neutropenia in patients with reduced creatinine clearance.

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI.

Direct intrinsic nephrotoxicity is not a prominent feature; the renal relevance is pharmacokinetic. The tipiracil component is mainly renally excreted, so its exposure rises with declining GFR: a phase I study found tipiracil AUC increased significantly with renal-impairment severity and required a dose reduction (to 20 mg/m2 twice daily) in severe impairment, while grade >= 3 adverse events — chiefly hematologic (anemia, neutropenia) — were more frequent across the impaired cohorts. Real-world data confirm more early severe neutropenia in patients with reduced creatinine clearance.

Source: Saif et al., Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2021 (renal-impairment phase I); Saito et al., Sci Rep 2024

Reported injury signatures: Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI.

Onset timing & rechallenge

Subacute (~1–6 weeks) — Prerenal effects tend to emerge within the first one to two treatment cycles, particularly with early severe neutropenia in patients with reduced creatinine clearance.

Mechanism of kidney injury

The kidney is the route of elimination rather than the primary target. Tipiracil is predominantly renally cleared; as GFR falls its plasma exposure climbs, prolonging trifluridine's effective exposure and amplifying systemic, principally myelosuppressive, toxicity (neutropenia, anemia). This accumulation can secondarily contribute to volume depletion (mucositis, GI losses) and prerenal/tubular stress. Hematologic and constitutional toxicity dominate; there is no well-characterized direct tubular lesion. The renal management priority is dose reduction to prevent exposure-driven cytopenias.

Clinical presentation

Predominantly hematologic toxicity (neutropenia in roughly a third, leukopenia, anemia, occasional febrile neutropenia) and GI effects, amplified in renal impairment. Electrolyte disturbances and a creatinine rise can accompany severe GI losses; a discrete intrinsic renal lesion is not characteristic.

Management

Manage toxicity by dose interruption and reduction; supportive care for cytopenias (growth factors, transfusion) and hydration for GI losses. In severe renal impairment use the reduced starting dose; reassess renal function and counts each cycle.

Risk factors

  • Moderate-to-severe renal impairment (CrCl < 60 mL/min)
  • Low baseline blood counts
  • Older age and low body surface area
  • Volume depletion from diarrhea/poor intake

Prevention

  • Assess creatinine clearance before starting and reduce dose for severe renal impairment per label
  • Maintain hydration; manage GI losses

Renal dose adjustment

No starting-dose adjustment for mild (CrCl 60-89 mL/min) or moderate (CrCl 30-59) renal impairment — the full 35 mg/m2 twice daily is tolerated; for severe impairment (CrCl 15-29) reduce to 20 mg/m2 twice daily per the label and PK study. Not studied in ESKD/dialysis — avoid or use with extreme caution.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Tipiracil is renally cleared and its dialyzability is not well characterized; no established dosing in dialysis-dependent patients.

Differential diagnosis

Distinguish exposure-driven cytopenias plus prerenal AKI (GI losses) from an intrinsic nephropathy; a creatinine rise here usually reflects volume depletion or unrecognized CKD increasing tipiracil exposure rather than a direct renal lesion.

Monitoring

  • Complete blood count before each cycle and at nadir (more often early in renal impairment)
  • Volume status with diarrhea/mucositis
  • Electrolytes if GI losses are significant

Key trials & series

  • RECOURSE (Mayer NEJM 2015) pivotal colorectal trial
  • Saif Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2021 renal-impairment phase I PK/dosing study
  • Saito Sci Rep 2024 real-world early-neutropenia analysis

Clinical pearls

  • Early severe neutropenia in the first cycle is the tell-tale of overexposure in a patient with reduced kidney function.
  • No ESKD dosing exists; avoid in dialysis-dependent patients.

Anticancer mechanism

Oral combination of trifluridine (FTD), a thymidine-based nucleoside analog incorporated into DNA to cause dysfunction, and tipiracil (TPI), a thymidine-phosphorylase inhibitor that blocks FTD degradation and raises its systemic exposure. Approved for refractory metastatic colorectal cancer and for previously treated metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal cancer.

Note

The renal signal is exposure/accumulation (tipiracil is renally cleared), not a primary tubular toxin. The actionable issue is reduced starting dose and intensified count monitoring in renal impairment; no dosing data exist for end-stage renal disease.

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
  • 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

4 peer-reviewed references. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.

  1. 1.A phase I, open-label study evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics of trifluridine/tipiracil in patients with advanced solid tumors and varying degrees of renal impairment.Saif MW et al. · Cancer Chemother Pharmacol · 2021 · PMID 34097100
  2. 2.Impact of renal impairment on early development of severe neutropenia with trifluridine/tipiracil treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.Saito Y et al. · Sci Rep · 2024 · PMID 39506021
  3. 3.Randomized trial of TAS-102 for refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.Mayer RJ et al. · N Engl J Med · 2015 · PMID 25970050
  4. 4.Conventional Chemotherapy Nephrotoxicity.Gupta S et al. · Adv Chronic Kidney Dis · 2021 · PMID 35190107

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.[B · Moderate]Nephrotic syndrome after switching from irinotecan, S-1, and bevacizumab combination to trifluridine/tipiracil.Takami J et al. · CEN Case Rep · 2025 · PMID 40637925
  2. C2.[C · Limited]IgA Nephropathy Associated with Trifluridine/Tipiracil: A Case Report.Desbuissons G et al. · Nephron · 2020 · PMID 32799198
  3. C3.[C · Limited]Leukocytoclastic vasculitis with late-onset Henoch-Schönlein purpura after trifluridine/tipiracil treatment.Aria AB et al. · Dermatol Online J · 2018 · PMID 30677817
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.