Update on the nephrotoxicity of novel anticancer agents

Anticancer drug-induced kidney disease is a problem commonly encountered by nephrologists. The number of medications employed by oncologists causing acute and chronic kidney injury as well as electrolyte and acid-base disturbances has increased significantly over the past several decades. While conventional chemotherapeutic drugs induce a number of kidney lesions, emergence of very effective and well-tolerated targeted therapies and novel immunotherapies has increased the occurrence of drug-induced acute and chronic kidney injury in cancer patients. This article will review the various kidney lesions observed with these new classes of anticancer drugs.