Acute renal failure during cisplatin-based chemotherapy: A prospective monocentric study

Cisplatin is a widely used antineoplastic in the treatment of various types of solid cancers. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the prevalence of acute renal failure (ARF) during cisplatin-based chemotherapy and to determine the factors correlated with renal toxicity.

This is a prospective study that was conducted over a period of 6 months. We included patients followed for histologically confirmed solid cancer and treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Assessment of renal function was made by calculating renal creatinine clearance before starting cisplatin, before every cycle, at 3 months and at 6 months.

Forty patients were included. The median age was 54 years (31-71 years). The mean cumulative dose received was 286 mg/m² (100-560 mg/m²). Twelve patients (30%) developed ARF which was grade 1 in 83% of cases. Cisplatin ARF was observed after a mean cumulative dose of 208 mg/m². Digestive toxicity (67%) and obstruction of the excretory tracts of tumoral origin (8%) were aggravating factors. Cisplatin cycle number >3 (p = 0.04) and dose ≥330 mg/m² (p = 0.04) were the factors associated with cisplatin renal toxicity.

This study concluded that ARF is dose-dependent with the predominance of grade 1 toxicity. A cumulative dose exceeding 330 mg/m² was correlated with an increased risk of occurrence of ARF.