Glomerular hyperfiltration in children with cancer: prevalence and a hypothesis

Glomerular hyperfiltration has recently been reported in children with malignancies and has been attributed to increased solute from breakdown of tumor tissues.

To evaluate the prevalence of hyperfiltration in the pediatric oncology population and explore its pathophysiological mechanism.

Tc-99 m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) glomerular filtration rate (GFR) examinations (437 studies) and medical records of 177 patients <21 years of age diagnosed with a malignancy between January 2005 and October 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Hyperfiltration was defined as a GFR ≥ 160 ml/min/1.73 m².

Seventy-seven (43.5%) patients had hyperfiltration in at least one GFR exam. A significantly higher percentage of patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumors (63.6%) had hyperfiltration when compared to other tumor types (27.3%, P < 0.001). No association was found between hyperfiltration and age, gender, race or bone marrow involvement. There was a significant trend toward decreasing hyperfiltration after the second cycle of chemotherapy (P = 0.006) and a significant increase in subjects with low GFR (<100 ml/min/1.73 m²) with increasing number of cycles of chemotherapy (P = 0.005).

Glomerular hyperfiltration is common in children with malignancies at diagnosis and during initial cycles of chemotherapy. It is particularly prevalent in patients with central nervous tumors, which are frequently smaller in volume. Therefore, the pathophysiological mechanism of hyperfiltration cannot be explained solely on the basis of large tumor volume and subsequent cell breakdown. We hypothesize that host hypermetabolic state plays an important role in pathophysiology of hyperfiltration.