Axitinib is an oral second-generation selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors recently approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Numerous cases of acute pancreatitis have been reported after treatment with nonselective tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sorafenib and sunitinib. We present the first report of a patient under axitinib treatment presenting with acute pancreatitis for which no other etiology has been found. The patient was a 29-year-old woman treated for renal cell carcinoma. The patient had no history of chronic illness, gallstone-related disease, or alcohol consumption. She had been previously treated with sunitinib and everolimus. Four months after the onset of axitinib treatment she was hospitalized for acute pancreatitis. Symptoms and blood lipase levels normalized within a few days after axitinib was withheld. We believe that acute pancreatitis should be recognized as a potential axitinib-related adverse event.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.