A case of recurrent acute acalculous cholecystitis in a patient with renal cell carcinoma treated with pazopanib and axitinib: case report and literature review.

A 74-year-old male patient with renal cell carcinoma developed disease progression in the left adrenal gland and lungs 12.8 years after surgery. He presented with symptoms of cholecystitis 4 weeks after starting pazopanib and 8 weeks after starting axitinib. The symptoms were relieved after treatment with drug discontinuation, anti-infective therapy and symptomatic supportive care. The Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale scores showed 4 points for pazopanib and 6 points for axitinib, indicaing a probable association of the event with the above two drugs. Meanwhile, a literature review was conducted by retrieving studies on tyrosine kinase inhibitor-induced cholecystitis from the PubMed database from 2005 to 2025, followed by systematic collation and summary. The study suggests that anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitors may induce rare episodes of cholecystitis in specific patient populations. Clinicians should maintain adequate vigilance, conduct close clinical monitoring, and adjust therapeutic regimens in a timely manner to ensure patient safety and optimize prognosis.