Addressing Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Using Multi-Frequency Vibrometry and Patient-Reported Outcomes

Abstract

(1) The study evaluated correlations between multi-frequency vibrometry (MF-V) and the measure of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy developed by the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (CIPN18). (2) Patients with cancer scheduled to undergo treatment with capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) or carboplatin and paclitaxel (Carbo-Tax) were recruited in a prospective, observational study with MF-V and the CIPN18 from baseline to one year after end of treatment. (3) The study recruited 31 evaluable patients. All MF-V measurements correlated significantly with the CIPN18 scores (r = 0.25–0.48, p > 0.003), with a low frequency (32 Hz) from metatarsals showing the best correlation coefficients (0.059 Z-score per CIPN18 point change, r = 0.48, CI-95 = [0.32; 0.60], p > 0.0001). The largest change in MF-V scores from baseline was seen in low-frequency VPTs taken from metatarsals at 8 Hz three months after end of treatment (from −0.26, CI-95 [−0.85, 0.38] to 1.15, CI-95 [0.53, 1.84]) for patients treated with oxaliplatin and at 32 Hz one year after end of treatment (from 0.09, CI-95 [−0.56, 0.77] to 0.88, CI-95 [0.34, 1.47]) for patients treated with paclitaxel. (4) Low-frequency vibration perception thresholds (8 and 32 Hz) correlated better with CIPN18 scores than high-frequency ones (128 and 250 Hz). If validated, this finding will advance CIPN pathophysiological understanding and inform the development of assessment methods.

Targeting translation: A review of preclinical animal models in the development of treatments for chemotherapy‐induced peripheral neuropathy

“…Similarly, to our knowledge, the assessment of vibration sensitivity in rodents following chemotherapy treatment has not been reliably performed. Given that vibration sensitivity is used as a clinical measure in CIPN, 47 implementing a preclinical methodology for the assessment of changes in vibration sensitivity following chemotherapy treatment would be informative, and novel techniques are being used to investigate mouse responses to vibration more broadly 48 …”

Survivorship among patients with haematological cancer: Work disability, dementia, and neuropathy

“…New approaches for assessment of CIPN include Multi-Frequency Vibrometry testing vibration perception thresholds at multiple frequency, Corneal Confocal Microscopy testing small fibre neuropathy, and Perception Threshold Tracking testing nerve fibre excitability (190)(191)(192). For the latter only data on large fibre neuropathy is available for patients treated with chemotherapy, data on small nerve fibre neuropathy is for now only available for patients with diabetes (192,193).…”