Abstract
Little quantitative evidence exists surrounding patients’ level of understanding of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) symptoms (numbness, tingling, pain in the hands/feet) and consequences (e.g., negatively affect physical functioning or chemotherapy dosing) at the beginning of chemotherapy. The purpose of this cross-sectional, secondary analysis was to describe CIPN knowledge and education patterns among adults early in a course of neurotoxic chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer (< three infusions). Following consent, participants completed an electronic questionnaire about their perceptions of CIPN symptoms, incidence, and education. Participants (N = 92) were mainly female (76%), white (91%), and diagnosed with breast (46%) or gastrointestinal (40%) cancers. Most participants without CIPN (n = 48) did not expect to develop CIPN (45%) or were unaware of CIPN as a side-effect (30%). Furthermore, 71% of participants without CIPN (n = 31) estimated CIPN to occur in ≤ 30% of patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy. Overall, participants learned about CIPN from their doctor or nurse prior to beginning chemotherapy (90%). Clinicians delivered education about CIPN symptoms (75%), but less frequently delivered education about CIPN management (14%), or the impact of CIPN on the ability to continue chemotherapy (16%) or physical functioning (24%). Finally, participants reported that a discussion with their doctor/nurse would be the best way to learn about CIPN (92%). Results revealed that participants without CIPN were largely unaware of the adverse consequences or incidence of CIPN during treatment. Further research is needed to investigate optimal methods to promote patient-clinician communication about CIPN during chemotherapy to enhance patients’ retention of CIPN information and activation in their care.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Seretny M, Currie GL, Sena ES et al (2014) Incidence, prevalence, and predictors of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain 155:2461–2470
Winters-Stone KM, Horak F, Jacobs PG et al (2017) Falls, functioning, and disability among women with persistent symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. J Clin Oncol 35:2604–2612. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2016.71.3552
Loprinzi CL, Lacchetti C, Bleeker J et al (2020) Prevention and management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in survivors of adult cancers: ASCO guideline update. J Clin Oncol 38:3325–3348. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.20.01399
Tanay MA, Armes J (2019) Lived experiences and support needs of women who developed chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy following treatment for breast and ovarian cancer. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) 28:e13011. https://doi.org/10.1111/ECC.13011
Dueck AC, Mendoza TR, Mitchell SA et al (2015) Validity and Reliability of the US National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE). JAMA Oncol 1:1051–1059. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.2639
Basch E, Reeve BB, Mitchell SA et al (2014) Development of the National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE). JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst 106:244. https://doi.org/10.1093/JNCI/DJU244
Hay JL, Atkinson TM, Reeve BB et al (2014) Cognitive interviewing of the US National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE). Qual Life Res 23:257–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0470-1
Tanay M, Robert G, Rafferty A, et al (2021) Clinician and patient experiences when providing and receiving information and support for managing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a qualitative multiple methods study. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl).https://doi.org/10.1111/ECC.13517
Shah A, Hoffman EM, Mauermann ML, et al (2018) Incidence and disease burden of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in a population-based cohort. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry jnnp-2017–317215. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2017-317215
Salgado TM, Quinn CS, Krumbach EK et al (2020) Reporting of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms to clinicians among women with breast cancer: a qualitative study. Support Care Cancer 28:4163–4172. https://doi.org/10.1007/S00520-019-05254-6/TABLES/2
Tanay MAL, Armes J, Ream E (2017) The experience of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in adult cancer patients: a qualitative thematic synthesis. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) 26:e12443. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.12443
Berry DL, Blumenstein BA, Halpenny B et al (2011) Enhancing patient-provider communication with the electronic self-report assessment for cancer: a randomized trial. J Clin Oncol 29:1029–1035
Berry DL, Hong F, Halpenny B et al (2014) The electronic self report assessment and intervention for cancer: promoting patient verbal reporting of symptom and quality of life issues in a randomized controlled trial. BMC Cancer 14:513. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-14-513
Knoerl R, Weller E, Halpenny B, Berry D (2018) Exploring the efficacy of an electronic symptom assessment and self-care intervention to preserve physical function in individuals receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy. BMC Cancer 18:1203. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-018-5093-z
Knoerl R, Weller E, Halpenny B, Berry D (2019) Correction to: Exploring the efficacy of an electronic symptom assessment and self-care intervention to preserve physical function in individuals receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy. BMC Cancer 19:438. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-019-5669-2
Knoerl R, Lee D, Yang J et al (2018) Examining the impact of a web-based intervention to promote patient activation in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy assessment and management. J Cancer Educ 33:1027–1035. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-017-1200-0
Knoerl R, Bridges C, Smith GL et al (2018) Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: use of an electronic care planning system to improve adherence to recommended assessment and management practices. Clin J Oncol Nurs 22:E134–E140. https://doi.org/10.1188/18.CJON.E134-E140
Funding
The funding for research expenses was provided by the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
RK: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing — original draft, funding acquisition; DB: conceptualization, methodology, writing — review and editing; JM: conceptualization, writing — review and editing; KR: conceptualization, writing — review and editing; ES: conceptualization, writing — review and editing; JG: conceptualization, methodology, writing — review and editing, supervision.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
Approval was obtained from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Office of Human Research Studies (19–535). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent to Participate
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Consent for Publication
Not applicable.
Competing Interests
RK has received personal fees (consulting) from Strategy Inc., Spark Healthcare, and the Comprehensive and Integrative Medicine Institute and serves on the scientific advisory board of Wellium. JM has served as an advisor/consultant to Merck Pharmaceutical and COTA Healthcare. JG has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, compensation for grant reviews from the US Department of Defense, and consulting income from Algo Therapeutix, Asahi Kasei Pharma, Eikonizo Therapeutics, GW Pharma, Magnolia Neurosciences, Orthogonal Neurosciences, Science Branding Communications, SK Life Science, and Saluda Medical.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Knoerl, R., Berry, D.L., Meyerhardt, J. et al. Exploring Patients’ Understanding of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. J Canc Educ 38, 906–912 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-022-02206-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-022-02206-3