Onconephrology: The Time is Ripe to Make New Beginnings

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BSTRACT

The field of nephrology has witnessed phenomenal growth and expanding horizons in the past few decades. Similarly, there has been exponential growth in the field of oncology, with a wide array of diagnostic tests providing accurate diagnoses and prognoses, and the evolution of treatment toward targeted therapies. Onconephrology is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary subspecialty of renal medicine, with recent innovations in cancer treatment and their impact on renal structure and function. This article will provide an overview of the assessment of kidney function in patients with cancer, the nephrotoxicity of common chemotherapeutic agents, and mitigation strategies, including the recently emerging entity of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated acute kidney injury. A strong case is made for the introduction of structured subspecialty training in onconephrology in India and Australia, given the ongoing rise in the incidence of chronic kidney disease and cancer, and the nuanced effects of novel anticancer therapies on kidney health.