Preventive effect of cryotherapy on persistent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy after completion of weekly paclitaxel therapy for breast cancer

BackgroundChemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is an important adverse event of taxane-based chemotherapy, which can persist in a substantial proportion of patients for years. Cryotherapy therapy is shown to be effective in prevention of CIPN during chemotherapy, but its protective effect on persistent CIPN has not been reported. MethodsThis observational study was performed as an ancillary analysis of a randomized trial investigating the preventive effect of cryotherapy on weekly paclitaxel-induced CIPN in breast cancer patients (UMIN000034966). Eligible cases were evaluated for Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Neurotoxicity (FACT-NTX) score and Patient Neurotoxicity Questionnaire (PNQ) at more than one year after completion of weekly paclitaxel. ResultsThirty-eight cases were evaluated for persistent CIPN with a median 2.3 (1.3-3.1) years after completion of weekly paclitaxel. The incidence of a significant decrease in FACT-NTX scores was numerically lower in the cryotherapy group compared with the control group (15.8% vs. 36.8%, p = 0.13). There was also a lower grade of PNQ sensory (p = 0.02) and motor (p = 0.17) in the cryotherapy group compared with the control group. ConclusionIn breast cancer patients treated with weekly paclitaxel, cryotherapy resulted in a numerical decrease in the incidence of persistent CIPN after completion of weekly paclitaxel therapy.