Prevention and therapy of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a review of recent findings

Abstract

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is one of the most frequent dose-limiting side effects, observed in patients receiving antineoplastic agents, persisting for up to two years after completing treatment, greatly affecting both the course of chemotherapy and patients' quality of life. Approximately 20 to 85% of patients treated with neurotoxic chemotherapy will develop peripheral neuropathy and there is considerable variability in its severity among patients. The main symptoms are numbness, paresthesia, and burning pain in a "glove and stocking" distribution. The prevalence of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy will likely increase as cancer survival rates continue to improve. Currently, there are only a few therapeutic options available for the prevention or successful therapy because the mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy remain unclear. A better understanding of the risk factors and underlying mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is needed to develop effective preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Exploring the Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cell–Derived Exosomes in Diabetic and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

“…Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is associated with several diseases including diabetes, infections, autoimmunity, malignancy, and several metabolic diseases [ 2 ]. The most common causes of PN are diabetes and treatment with chemotherapy [ 3 ] with prevalence exceeding 50% in people with diabetes [ 4 ] and approximately 20 to 85% in patients treated with chemotherapy [ 5 ]. The exact mechanisms and pathogenesis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) remain unclear, although it has been suggested that both share mitochondrial dysfunction as a common pathogenic mechanism [ 6 ].…”