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Incidence of taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy receiving treatment and prescription patterns in patients with breast cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) can affect quality of life and treatment outcomes in breast cancer patients. Despite the high incidence, treatment of PN has not been established. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and prescribing pattern of TIPN receiving pharmacologic treatment in real-world practice.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective chart review of 1629 breast cancer patients who received taxanes at the Seoul National University Hospital from July 2012 to June 2014. We determined the incidence and predictors for TIPN treated with anti-neuropathic pain medications during taxane treatment and the 1-year follow-up period after discontinuation of taxanes. The prescribing pattern of anti-neuropathic drugs was also analyzed.

Results

A total of 1516 patients with breast cancer were included, and the incidence of TIPN receiving treatment was 21.9% overall, with 42.2% of patients using paclitaxel and 15.8% using docetaxel. The median time to the first anti-neuropathic pain medication prescribed from the start of taxane treatment was 64 days and was significantly earlier in the paclitaxel group. In 21% of patients, TIPN treatment was started after the end of taxane treatment. Identified risk factors for TIPN were paclitaxel use (vs. docetaxel), old age, overweight, metastatic (vs. non-metastatic) breast cancer, and possibly a 3-weekly taxane schedule (vs. weekly). Gabapentin and pregabalin accounted for 71.7 and 24.3% of total use of anti-neuropathic agents, respectively.

Conclusions

One-fifth of breast cancer patients who were treated with taxane-based chemotherapy experienced TIPN receiving treatment, and its risk factors were paclitaxel use, old age, overweight, and metastatic cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Su Jeong Song, Ji Min, Sung Yun Suh, Sun Hoi Jung & Hyeon Joo Hahn

  2. Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Seock-Ah Im

  3. College of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, South Korea

    Ju-Yeun Lee

Authors
  1. Su Jeong Song
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  2. Ji Min
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  3. Sung Yun Suh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ju-Yeun Lee.

Ethics declarations

The institutional review board of the Seoul National University Hospital approved this study (IRB No. H-1508-139-697).

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict to disclose. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

All datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are under the control of authors and are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Su Jeong Song and Ji Min contributed equally to this work.

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Song, S.J., Min, J., Suh, S.Y. et al. Incidence of taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy receiving treatment and prescription patterns in patients with breast cancer. Support Care Cancer 25, 2241–2248 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3631-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3631-x

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