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Printable monograph

Vinca alkaloid

Vinorelbine

Navelbine · VNR

Vinca alkaloid · approved 1994 · 7 citations · FAERS AKI reporting ROR 2.37 (95% CI 1.97–2.85, 117 AKI reports)

Recent· through 2024
Deeply sourced7/9 · 6 signals
  • Met: 7 citations
  • Not met: 12+ references
  • Met: Accrued over 10+ years (span: 17y)
  • Met: Beyond single case reports
  • Not met: Peer-reviewed sources
  • Met: Landmark reference
  • Met: Current through 2024
  • Met: Real-world FAERS signal

Describes how this page is sourced, not how dangerous the drug is. Thinly sourced means fewer of the sourcing signals are met — not that the agent is kidney-safe. A rule-based summary, not a formal certainty appraisal.

A semisynthetic vinca alkaloid with documented SIADH case reports.

MildVinca alkaloid
Non-small-cell lung cancerBreast cancer
§01

Signature kidney injury

Signature lesion

SIADH with hyponatremia is reported with vinorelbine at case level; FAERS pharmacovigilance analysis of vinca alkaloids flags inappropriate ADH secretion as a shared signal. Quantitative incidence is not established.Source: Hoang et al., J Oncol Pharm Pract 2013

Onset & rechallenge

Time to injuryVariable / unpredictable

Days after dosing, sometimes only after several cycles (one report after three).

Distilled from: “Days after dosing, sometimes after several cycles (one report after three cycles).”

§02

Renal toxicities, ranked

This agent's kidney lesions ordered by prominence — the #1 signature lesion first, then secondary and rare patterns. Cited incidence is shown where a citable figure exists; otherwise the tier stands qualitatively.

  1. SIADH / Hyponatremia#1 · Signaturequalitative — no citable incidence

    Inappropriate water retention at the collecting duct — high-dose cyclophosphamide.

  2. Electrolyte DisturbanceSecondaryqualitative — no citable incidence

    Renal electrolyte derangement — magnesium/potassium/calcium wasting (cisplatin, anti-EGFR antibodies) or retention (FGFR-inhibitor hyperphosphatemia, tumor-lysis hyperkalemia/hyperphosphatemia).

§03

Kidney injury

Deep diveDrug-induced SIADH: the sodium falls and the tumour takes the blameHyponatremia is the commonest electrolyte disorder in oncology and its commonest explanation is the cancer itself — which is exactly why a drug that impairs free-water excretion can go on being given for months while the sodium is treated as a feature of the disease.

Also documented as kidney-sparing

Vinorelbine — Hepatic metabolism; low direct renal toxicity. Rare SIADH; neuropathy, myelosuppression.

The spared

Mechanism of kidney injury

Like other vinca alkaloids, induces inappropriate antidiuresis with increased collecting-duct water reabsorption, causing euvolemic dilutional hyponatremia rather than structural renal injury. In lung-cancer patients the underlying tumor can be an independent (paraneoplastic) cause of SIADH, complicating attribution.

Clinical presentation

Euvolemic hyponatremia, low serum osmolality, inappropriately concentrated urine (urine osm >100, urine Na >30); neurologic symptoms if severe or rapidly developing.

Management

Fluid restriction; 3% hypertonic saline for severe symptomatic cases with a safe correction rate (<=8 mmol/L/24 h). Withhold drug; SIADH typically resolves on discontinuation.Lesion-level management framework

Risk factors

  • Other SIADH-promoting drugs/conditions
  • Excess free-water intake
  • Pulmonary malignancy (independent paraneoplastic SIADH cause)

Prevention

  • Limit hypotonic fluids in susceptible patients
  • Plan controlled correction if hyponatremia develops
Anticancer mechanism· how it treats cancer

Semisynthetic vinca alkaloid that inhibits microtubule assembly at the vinca-binding domain of tubulin and arrests mitosis. Used in non-small-cell lung cancer and breast cancer.

Note · SIADH reports define the renal signal; there is no characteristic direct nephrotoxicity.
§04

Clinical depth

Renal dose adjustment

Hepatically metabolized (CYP3A) and biliary excreted - no renal dose adjustment; reduce for hepatic impairment/hyperbilirubinemia. Never give intrathecally.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Extensive tissue binding and large volume of distribution; not dialyzable. Hyponatremia is managed by fluid/sodium strategies.

Differential diagnosis

Drug-induced SIADH vs paraneoplastic ectopic ADH from lung cancer vs hypovolemic hyponatremia. In NSCLC, distinguishing tumor-driven from drug-driven SIADH may require temporal correlation with dosing and response to drug hold.

Monitoring

  • Serum sodium and osmolality during therapy
  • Urine osmolality/sodium if hyponatremia develops
  • CBC for neutropenia (primary dose-limiting toxicity)

Key trials & series

  • Hoang J Oncol Pharm Pract 2013 vinorelbine SIADH case report
  • Zhong Expert Opin Drug Saf 2024 FAERS analysis

Clinical pearls

  • In a lung-cancer patient, vinorelbine SIADH and tumor-related SIADH can coexist - timing relative to dosing helps attribute it.
  • Water restriction is first-line; reserve hypertonic saline for severe symptoms.
  • Resolution after holding the drug supports a drug cause.
Where it strikes· nephron segments & injury signatures

Nephron segments

Distal Tubule / Collecting Duct

Fine-tuning of Na, K, Mg, acid & water

Beyond the kidney — non-renal toxicities· 3 organ systems

Class-level context for the major non-renal toxicities of the Vinca alkaloid class.

Ophthalmic

Keratopathy, uveitis, retinopathy

  • Visual disturbance (crizotinib)

Hepatic / Liver

Transaminitis, hepatitis, VOD/SOS

  • Transaminitis

Neurologic

Neuropathy, encephalopathy, ICANS, PRES

  • CNS effects (lorlatinib)
§05

References

5 primary references — trials, cohorts, mechanism, and reviews. Single-patient case reports are listed separately below, graded by strength. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.

Evidence accrual

5 references · 2013–2024 · 3 since 2022
202013: 1 citation2020: 1 citation2022: 2 citations2024: 1 citation201320202024

Primary (non–case-report) references per year — a proxy for how actively the agent's renal literature is accruing. Recent years are highlighted. Reflects curation depth, not a systematic bibliometric count.

  1. 1.LandmarkSyndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone after vinorelbine treatment.Hoang M et al. · J Oncol Pharm Pract · 2013 · PMID 23353713Case report of vinorelbine-associated SIADH with life-threatening hyponatremia resolving after discontinuation.
  2. 2.A real-world pharmacovigilance study using disproportionality analysis of United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System events for vinca alkaloids: comparing vinorelbine and Vincristine.Zhong C et al. · Expert Opin Drug Saf · 2024 · PMID 39340205FAERS analysis identifying inappropriate ADH secretion among vinorelbine adverse events.
  3. 3.Pathophysiology of Drug-Induced Hyponatremia.Kim GH et al. · J Clin Med · 2022 · PMID 36233678Mechanistic review of drug-induced SIADH/hyponatremia relevant to vinca alkaloids.
  4. 4.Diagnosis and Management of Hyponatremia: A Review.Adrogué HJ et al. · JAMA · 2022 · PMID 35852524Authoritative SIADH management guidance including safe correction limits.
  5. 5.Onconephrology: The intersections between the kidney and cancer.Rosner MH et al. · CA Cancer J Clin · 2020 · PMID 32853404Onconephrology review covering chemotherapy-associated electrolyte disorders including paraneoplastic and drug-induced SIADH.
FDA label — boxed warning & renal dosing· boxed warning

Quoted verbatim from this agent's current FDA label (Aug 2024) — not paraphrased or interpreted. Full label on DailyMed .

Boxed warning

WARNING: MYELOSUPPRESSION Severe myelosuppression resulting in serious infection, septic shock, hospitalization and death can occur [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.1 )]. Decrease the dose or withhold vinorelbine in accord with recommended dose modifications [see Dosage and Administration ( 2.2 )]. WARNING: MYELOSUPPRESSION See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. Severe myelosuppression resulting in serious infection, septic shock, and death can occur ( 5.1 ). Decrease the dose or withhold vinorelbine in accord with recommended dose modifications ( 2.2 ).

What gets reported — FAERS

Everything below is FAERS — adverse events someone chose to report, about 6,868 of them for this agent. Nobody counts the patients who were fine, so none of these numbers is an incidence, a risk, or a rate: they describe what gets reported, shaped by a drug's fame, its indication, and who was watching. How these numbers work.

  • Reporting odds ratio (ROR) — is kidney injury named in this agent's reports more often than in every other drug's? Above 1 means yes, disproportionately.
  • Renal phenotypes — the same question asked separately for each kind of kidney injury, so the ratios differ from the overall one and from each other.
  • Outcomes — a share of this agent's own reports, not of patients: how many were filed as involving a death or a hospitalization. Not a case-fatality rate.
FAERS reported renal phenotypes· 5 signals

Only significant signals appear (95% CI lower bound above 1) — a phenotype missing here was tested and did not reach significance, except Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI, Pseudo-AKI, Renal Cysts, Chronic Interstitial Nephropathy — outside the clinician-reviewed MedDRA term map, never queried — and ATN and AIN, queried but biopsy-bound: real cases are filed as generic “acute kidney injury”, so their absence is not a negative. As of 2026-10-01.

What reporting says about this profile's documented lesions

  • Electrolyte Disturbancecorroborated · ROR 3.01 — on the terms that name the lesion (ROR 6.64)
  • SIADH / Hyponatremiacorroborated · ROR 1.98 — but the naming terms alone are not disproportionate, so this rests on terms merely consistent with the lesion
Thrombotic Microangiopathy
ROR 5.9595% CI 4.15–8.52· 30 reports
Electrolyte Disturbance
ROR 3.0195% CI 2.60–3.49· 185 reports
Acute Interstitial Nephritis
ROR 2.7895% CI 1.73–4.47· 17 reports
SIADH / Hyponatremia
ROR 1.9895% CI 1.51–2.60· 52 reports
Glomerular Injury / Proteinuria
ROR 1.6895% CI 1.03–2.75· 16 reports
FAERS outcomes & reporting trend· 21.1% of reports w/ death · 31.8% w/ hospitalization
21.1%

Reported with a death outcome

1,452 of 6,868 reports

31.8%

Reported with hospitalization

2,181 of 6,868 reports

Reports per year

  • 2015: 325 reports
  • 2016: 328 reports
  • 2017: 306 reports
  • 2018: 540 reports
  • 2019: 684 reports
  • 2020: 639 reports
  • 2021: 471 reports
  • 2022: 399 reports
  • 2023: 477 reports
  • 2024: 467 reports
  • 2025: 352 reports
  • 2026: 138 reports

Yearly FAERS report volume · most recent year is partial.

FAERS adverse-event signal — all organ systems· 8 systems · 6,868 reports

Bars rank systems by summed reaction-term mentions (a report counts once per term it names) — an ordinal “more vs less reported” cue, not a tally of distinct reports. Renal & urinary first. As of 2026-10-01.

Disproportionality (acute kidney injury):ROR 2.3795% CI 1.97–2.85· 117 AKI reports ·AKI is reported disproportionately more often than for other drugs (CI entirely above 1) — a hypothesis-generating signal, not proof of causation.
Blood & lymphatic
Neutropenia668Anaemia452Thrombocytopenia375Febrile Neutropenia371
Gastrointestinal
Diarrhoea508Nausea503Vomiting395Mucosal Inflammation203
General / constitutional
Fatigue452Pyrexia352Asthenia288
Respiratory
Dyspnoea332Cough227Pleural Effusion210
Skin
Palmar-Plantar Erythrodysaesthesia Syndrome239
Immune / infection
Pneumonia237
Nervous system
Neuropathy Peripheral221
Metabolic & electrolyte
Decreased Appetite205
Guidelines & consensus· 13

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.

General onco-nephrology references

ADQIThe nephrotoxic effects of anti-cancer therapies: consensus report of the 34th Acute Disease Quality Initiative workgroupNat Rev Nephrol 2026 · PMID 41361704Provides 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.SIRMSIRM-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)Radiol Med 2022 · PMID 35303246Recommends 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.KDIGOKDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: understanding kidney impairment and solid-organ malignancies, and managing kidney cancerKidney Int 2020 · PMID 33126977Identifies 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.KDIGOKDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: kidney disease in hematological malignancies and the burden of cancer after kidney transplantationKidney Int 2020 · PMID 33276867Addresses 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.ADDIKDIntegrating International Consensus Guidelines for Anticancer Drug Dosing in Kidney Dysfunction (ADDIKD) into everyday practiceEClinicalMedicine 2025 · PMID 40290844Provides 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.ADDIKDAligning kidney function assessment in patients with cancer to global practices in internal medicineEClinicalMedicine 2025 · PMID 40290845Three 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.ADDIKDA methodology for determining dosing recommendations for anticancer drugs in patients with reduced kidney functionEClinicalMedicine 2025 · PMID 40290846Establishes 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.KDIGODiagnosis, evaluation, and management of acute kidney injury: a KDIGO summary (Part 1)Crit Care 2013 · PMID 23394211Defines/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.KDIGOExecutive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease: known knowns and known unknownsKidney Int 2024 · PMID 38519239Evaluate 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.KDIGOExecutive summary of the KDIGO 2021 Guideline for the Management of Glomerular DiseasesKidney Int 2021 · PMID 34556300Provides 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.KDIGOExecutive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of ANCA-Associated VasculitisKidney Int 2024 · PMID 38388147Updates 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.KDIGOExecutive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Lupus NephritisKidney Int 2024 · PMID 38182299Updates 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.KDIGOExecutive summary of the KDIGO 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy (IgAN) and Immunoglobulin A Vasculitis (IgAV)Kidney Int 2025 · PMID 40975525Encourages 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.

Where Vinorelbine sits in nephrotoxicity space — each dot is an anti-cancer agent, positioned so neighbors share a kidney-injury phenotype. Its 6 closest are filled and lead to a numbered marker, matching the numbered cards below.

Position is a 2-D projection (MDS) of each agent's injury signature, nephron target, severity, and class, so two dots can sit close on the page while differing on an axis the projection flattened — the numbered ranking is computed from the full metric, not from the distance you see. Open the full map.
Phenotype-similar agents· the numbered markers on the map above

Vinblastine

Velban · Vinca alkaloid

Profile

SIADH and rare Raynaud/vascular events.

SIADHLYTE
Mild#1 · 100% phenotype match

Vincristine

Oncovin · Vinca alkaloid

Profile

SIADH → hyponatremia.

SIADHLYTE
Mild#2 · 100% phenotype match

Melphalan

Alkeran · Alkylator

Profile

SIADH in high-dose myeloma conditioning; renally cleared.

SIADHLYTE
Mild#3 · 89% phenotype match

Temozolomide

Temodar · Alkylator

Profile

Occasional SIADH; generally renally well tolerated.

SIADHLYTE
Mild#4 · 89% phenotype match

Vismodegib

Erivedge · Hedgehog (SMO) inhibitor

Profile

Muscle spasms; hyponatremia reported.

SIADHLYTE
Mild#5 · 87% phenotype match

Chlorambucil

Leukeran · Alkylating agent (nitrogen mustard)

Profile

Minimal direct nephrotoxicity; rare drug-associated SIADH/hyponatremia is the kidney-relevant signal.

SIADHLYTE
Mild#6 · 86% phenotype match
Compare Vinorelbine with its nearest agents

Nearest agents by kidney-injury phenotype (shared injuries, nephron target, severity, class) — a similarity approximation, not a claim of shared drug identity or mechanism.

Kidney risk across Microtubule inhibitors

Same-class agents ordered by their documented kidney-injury profile — atlas severity, an acute-kidney-injury FAERS signal, and how many injury types each is documented to cause. Agents nearer the top carry the lighter documented renal profile.

  1. 1EribulinMild
  2. 2VinblastineMild
  3. 3VinflunineMild
  4. 4CabazitaxelFAERS AKIMild
  5. 5VincristineFAERS AKIMild
  6. 6Vinorelbine· this agentFAERS AKIMild
  7. 7DocetaxelFAERS AKIMild
  8. 8PaclitaxelFAERS AKIMild

A comparison of documented kidney-injury data within one drug class — not a substitution recommendation. Efficacy, indication, and non-renal toxicity differ between these agents and are out of scope here. Educational only, not medical advice.

Who studies this

The leading contributors to Vinorelbine’s clinical kidney literature on PubMed, ranked by a blend of publication volume and citation impact — filtered toward clinical work via the PubMed Humans heading and clinical publication types (trials, cohorts, case reports, guidelines, reviews). Names link to that author’s work on Vinorelbine; the PMIDs beside each name are up to three of their most recent papers on it, not the full count.

  1. Rugo, Hope S — their work on Vinorelbine, on PubMed (opens in a new tab)2 papers · 412 citesPMID 21990397 (opens PubMed in a new tab)PMID 15178815 (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  2. Shamseddine, Ali I — their work on Vinorelbine, on PubMed (opens in a new tab)2 papers · 37 citesPMID 21993011 (opens PubMed in a new tab)PMID 17164589 (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  3. Stathopoulos, George P — their work on Vinorelbine, on PubMed (opens in a new tab)2 papers · 22 citesPMID 16080557 (opens PubMed in a new tab)PMID 15809759 (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  4. Bitar, Nizar — their work on Vinorelbine, on PubMed (opens in a new tab)2 papers · 37 citesPMID 21993011 (opens PubMed in a new tab)PMID 17164589 (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  5. Jalloul, Rahif — their work on Vinorelbine, on PubMed (opens in a new tab)2 papers · 37 citesPMID 21993011 (opens PubMed in a new tab)PMID 17164589 (opens PubMed in a new tab)

Ranked by a 50/50 blend of publication volume and a position-weighted, capped Relative Citation Ratio (NIH iCite) on this agent’s renal literature; the citation count shown is the raw total, not the ranking score — counted over the 29 clinical records among all 42 PubMed matches, so counts are within-sample — bibliometric context, not an endorsement or a measure of clinical authority.