CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Hematologic Malignancies
Case Report: Sorafenib-Induced Rhabdomyolysis in a Post-Transplant Patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangdong Provincial Work Injury Rehabilitation Center, Guangzhou, China
- 2Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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Background Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical acute syndrome characterized by acute injury or necrosis of skeletal muscle cells and may be life-threatening. We report a rare case of rhabdomyolysis caused by sorafenib. Case This case report presents a 31-year-old female patient who experienced rhabdomyolysis during sorafenib treatment following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The patient underwent the transplantation due to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and subsequently received sorafenib as maintenance therapy to prevent leukemia relapse. During treatment, she developed bilateral lower limb weakness, a significant increase in creatine kinase (CK) levels, and hypokalemia. After discontinuing sorafenib and initiating supportive treatments, her CK levels gradually decreased. Neuromuscular biopsy results showed rhabdomyolysis and immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy.The patient was followed up in the outpatient clinic after discharge, and the symptoms of myasthenia in both lower limbs have improved. On the 38th day after discharge, laboratory tests showed that the levels of α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and electrolytes had returned to normal. Conclusion This case highlights that sorafenib may cause rare but severe adverse reactions, such as rhabdomyolysis. Clinicians should be vigilant about these potential adverse effects when using sorafenib and enhance patient monitoring and management.
Keywords: Acute Myeloid Leukemia, case report, Hypokalemia, Rhabdomyolysis, Sorafenib
Received: 10 Dec 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ke, CAO, Li, Zhou and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ping Zheng
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