Incidence, prevalence, and predictors of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Design
- Systematic review and meta-analysis (random-effects meta-regression)
- Sample size
- 31 studies with data from 4179 patients
- Source
- Pain · 2014
In plain words
Many people who have chemotherapy get nerve damage in the hands and feet, which can be painful and uncomfortable. In this study about 68% of patients had this problem in the first month after chemotherapy, and after 6 months or more about 30% of them still had it. If you have symptoms such as numbness, tingling or pain after chemotherapy, tell your doctor so it can be followed up.
Key results
Treatment arms and regimens
This is a systematic review and has no specific intervention group. Different chemotherapy drugs were compared for CIPN prevalence; dose details are in the full text of the paper.
Source of the regimen details: Abstract of the paper
Doses are given for the information of specialists, as in this study’s protocol, and are not a prescription. Every drug must be prescribed by the treating physician for the individual patient.
Study population
Studies reporting the prevalence of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. Further details of the inclusion criteria are not given in the abstract.
Endpoints
Pooled estimates of CIPN prevalence using random-effects meta-regression at different times after chemotherapy, with a qualitative summary of reported factors affecting CIPN risk.
Safety and side effects
This is a systematic review and has no interventional safety outcome. Its main subject is chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy itself as a treatment complication. Different chemotherapy drugs were associated with differences in CIPN prevalence.
Clinical significance and place in guidelines
This review shows that CIPN is common and persists for 6 months or more after chemotherapy in a substantial proportion of patients. The authors emphasise the need for routine CIPN monitoring during follow-up after chemotherapy. The genetic and clinical risk factors identified need further study. The status of this topic in clinical guidelines should be checked separately.
Limitations
There was evidence of publication bias. The confidence intervals of the prevalence estimates at 3 and 6 months were wide (36.4–81.6 and 6.4–53.5, respectively). Clinical risk factors were reported in only 4 of the 31 studies and genetic factors in 4 studies. Prevalence varied between chemotherapy drugs.
This summary was prepared by the editorial team from the published paper; the original paper is the final reference. Read the original abstract on PubMed.