Renal Safety Profile of EGFR Targeted Therapies: A Study from VigiBase® the WHO Global Database of Individual Case Safety Reports

Post-marketing safety of panitumumab: a real-world pharmacovigilance study

BACKGROUND

Panitumumab has been extensively applied in antitumor therapy, and the regulation of its adverse drug reactions (ADRs) has become extremely important. This study utilized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database to extract real-world panitumumab ADR signals and provide relevant information for drug safety.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

ROR, PRR, BCPNN, and MGPS were used to identify real-world ADR signals associated with panitumumab.

RESULTS

Analysis of 9,033 patients identified 263 ADR signals across 20 MedDRA System Organ Classifications. New signals including peripheral sensory neuropathy, gene mutation, decreased neutrophil count, polyneuropathy, ileus, neutropenia, and febrile neutropenia. Age and sex subgroup analyses revealed specific risks, such as polyneuropathy and gene mutation in those under 65 years of age, decreased neutrophil count and peripheral sensory neuropathy in those over 65 years of age, and febrile neutropenia in men. Ileus was highlighted as a novel ADR in gastrointestinal disorders, with no significant age or sex differences.

CONCLUSION

This study identified new signals of ADR associated with panitumumab, providing valuable information for the clinical use of panitumumab.

Osimertinib in a patient with end-stage kidney disease not on hemodialysis

Osimertinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) effective in non- small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR mutations. Since the drug is primally eliminated by the fecal route no dose adjustment is needed in patient with chronic-kidney disease (CKD); despite this there is limited data about its safety in cancer patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Herein, we reported a case report of a 77-year-old woman, diagnosed in 2018 with lung adenocarcinoma EGFR mutated with lymph nodal and cerebral metastasis, who started Osimertinib 80 mg/day. She under- went 41 cycles of therapy with no Osimertinib interruptions, no severe toxicities and obtaining complete radiological response. We conclude that Osimertinib has an acceptable safety profile also in cancer patients with ESRD not undergoing hemodialysis (HD).

Nephrotoxicity of targeted therapy used to treat lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, especially non-small cell lung cancer. Early diagnosis and better treatment choices have already provided a more promising prognosis for cancer patients. In targeted therapy, antagonists target specific genes supporting cancer growth, proliferation and metastasis. With the incorporation of targeted therapies in routine cancer therapy, it is imperative that the array of toxicities associated with these agents must be well-recognized and managed, especially since these toxicities are distinct from those seen with conventional cytotoxic agents. Drug-related nephrotoxicity has attracted attention when initiating cancer therapy. Our review aims to summarize the adverse renal effects caused by targeted therapy during lung cancer treatment, mainly focusing on EGFR and ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Also, we discuss the possible mechanism of the side effect and provide managements to help improve the renal function in clinical practice.

Drug-induced glomerular diseases

Drug-induced kidney diseases represent a wide range of diseases that are responsible for a significant proportion of all acute kidney injuries and chronic kidney diseases. In the present review, we focused on drug-induced glomerular diseases, more precisely podocytopathies - minimal change diseases (MCD), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) - and membranous nephropathies (MN), from a physiological and a pharmacological point of view. The glomerular filtration barrier is composed of podocytes that form foot processes tightly connected and directly in contact with the basal membrane and surrounding capillaries. The common clinical feature of these diseases is represented by the loss of the ability of the filtration barrier to retain large proteins, leading to massive proteinuria and nephrotic syndrome. Drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), D-penicillamine, tiopronin, trace elements, bisphosphonate, and interferons have been historically associated with the occurrence of MCD, FSGS, and MN. In the last ten years, the development of new anti-cancer agents, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and research into their renal adverse effects highlighted these issues and have improved our comprehension of these diseases.

Cerebrovascular damage caused by the gut microbe/host co-metabolite p-cresol sulfate is prevented by blockade of the EGF receptor

The gut microbiota-brain axis has been associated with the pathogenesis of numerous disorders, but the mechanism(s) underlying these links are generally poorly understood. Accumulating evidence indicates the involvement of gut microbe-derived metabolites. Circulating levels of the gut microbe/host co-metabolite p-cresol sulfate (pCS) correlate with cerebrovascular event risk in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but whether this relationship is mechanistic is unclear. We hypothesized that pCS would impair the function of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the primary brain vasculature interface. We report that pCS exposure impairs BBB integrity in human cells in vitro and both acutely (≤6 hours) and chronically (28 days) in mice, enhancing tracer extravasation, disrupting barrier-regulating tight junction components and ultimately exerting a suppressive effect upon whole-brain transcriptomic activity. In vitro and in vivo mechanistic studies showed that pCS activated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling, sequentially activating the intracellular signaling proteins annexin A1 and STAT3 to induce mobilization of matrix metalloproteinase MMP-2/9 and disruption to the integrity of the BBB. This effect was confirmed as specific to the EGFR through the use of both pharmacological and RNA interference approaches. Confirming the translational relevance of this work, exposure of the cerebromicrovascular endothelia to serum from hemodialysis patients in vitro led to a significant increase in paracellular permeability, with the magnitude of permeabilization closely correlating with serum pCS, but not most other uremic toxin, content. Notably, this damaging effect of hemodialysis patient serum was prevented by pharmacological blockade of the EGFR. Our results define a pathway linking the co-metabolite pCS with BBB damage and suggest that targeting the EGFR may mitigate against cerebrovascular damage in CKD. This work further provides mechanistic evidence indicating the role of gut microbe-derived metabolites in human disease.

Human scattered tubular cells represent a heterogeneous population of glycolytic dedifferentiated proximal tubule cells

Scattered tubular cells (STCs) are a phenotypically distinct cell population in the proximal tubule that increase in number after acute kidney injury. We aimed to characterize the human STC population. Three-dimensional human tissue analysis revealed that STCs are preferentially located within inner bends of the tubule and are barely present in young kidney tissue (<2 years), and their number increases with age. Increased STC numbers were associated with acute tubular injury (kidney injury molecule 1) and interstitial fibrosis (alpha smooth muscle actin). Isolated CD13⁺ CD24^- CD133^- proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs) and CD13⁺ CD24+ and CD13⁺ CD133⁺ STCs were analyzed using RNA sequencing. Transcriptome analysis revealed an upregulation of nuclear factor κB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and inflammatory pathways in STCs, whereas metabolism, especially the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, was downregulated, without showing signs of cellular senescence. Using immunostaining and a publicly available single-cell sequencing database of human kidneys, we demonstrate that STCs represent a heterogeneous population in a transient state. In conclusion, STCs are dedifferentiated PTECs showing a metabolic shift toward glycolysis, which could facilitate cellular survival after kidney injury. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Population Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacogenomics, and Adverse Events of Osimertinib and its Two Active Metabolites, AZ5104 and AZ7550, in Japanese Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: a Prospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Potential novel strategies for adverse event (AE) management of osimertinib therapy, including therapeutic drug monitoring and the use of biomarkers, have not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to evaluate (1) the relationship between exposure to osimertinib, especially its active metabolites (AZ5104 and AZ7550), and AEs, and (2) the relationship between germline polymorphisms and AEs.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, longitudinal observational study of 53 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer receiving osimertinib therapy from February 2019 to April 2022. A population pharmacokinetic model was developed to estimate the area under the serum concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h (AUC_0-24) of osimertinib and its metabolites. Germline polymorphisms were analyzed using TaqMan® SNP genotyping and CycleavePCR® assays.

RESULTS

There was a significant association between the AUC_0-24 of AZ7550 and grade ≥ 2 paronychia (p = 0.043) or anorexia (p = 0.011) and between that of osimertinib or AZ5104 and grade ≥ 2 diarrhea (p = 0.026 and p = 0.049, respectively). Furthermore, the AUC_0-24 of AZ5104 was significantly associated with any grade ≥ 2 AEs (p = 0.046). EGFR rs2293348 and rs4947492 were associated with severe AEs (p = 0.019 and p = 0.050, respectively), and ABCG2 rs2231137 and ABCB1 rs1128503 were associated with grade ≥ 2 AEs (p = 0.008 and p = 0.038, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Higher exposures to osimertinib, AZ5104, and AZ7550 and polymorphisms in EGFR, ABCG2, and ABCB1 were related to higher severity of AEs; therefore, monitoring these may be beneficial for osimertinib AE management.

Renal adverse reactions of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of tumours: A Bayesian network meta-analysis

Objectives: Tumours remain a serious threat to human life. Following rapid progress in oncology research, tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been used to treat multiple tumour types. Given the great influence of kidneys on pharmacokinetics, renal toxicities associated with TKIs have attracted attention. However, the TKIs with the lowest risks of renal impairment are unclear. In this study, we conducted a Bayesian network meta-analysis to compare the incidence of renal impairment among different TKIs in patients with tumours. Methods and analysis: Six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and China Biomedical Literature Database) were electronically searched from inception to 1 November 2021 to identify randomized controlled trials on the incidence of renal impairment for different TKIs in patients with tumours. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Then, a pairwise meta-analysis was conducted using Stata version 13, and network meta-analysis within the Bayesian framework was conducted using R software version 3.5.3 with the package "gemtc 0.8-2" recalling JAGS (version 4.3.0). Results: Overall, 34 randomized controlled trials were included in this study. Although renal toxicity was common among patients receiving TKIs, the incidence and severity greatly differed among the drugs and studies. Elevated creatinine and protein levels were the most common nephrotoxic events, whereas haematuria was relatively rare. Among TKIs, nintedanib and ripretinib carried the lowest risks of renal impairment. Conclusion: TKIs displayed different profiles of renal toxicity because of their different targets and underlying mechanisms. Clinicians should be aware of the risks of renal impairment to select the optimal treatment and improve patient adherence to treatment. Systematic Review Registration: [www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], identifier [CRD42022295853].