Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Using NCI-CTC in Isfahan, Iran

Paclitaxel is a highly effective anticancer agent. it is active against a broad rangeof cancers that are generally considered refractory to conventional chemotherapy.paclitaxel induces a peripheral neuropathy (pn) that is characterized by sensorysymptoms such as numbness and paresthesia in a glove and stocking distribution .pn may be severe and dose limiting at initial doses above 275 mg/m-, our purposewas to evaluate the incidence, severity, dose dependency, and reversibility ofpaclitaxel-induced neuropathy. we studied 45 patients with breast cancer, treatedwith paclitaxel (240 , 270, 300 rng/m-) in an average of 4 cycles of treatment.paclitaxel was administered by a 3 h intravenous infusion every 3 weeks in all patients.we used national cancer institute-common toxicity criteria (nci-ctc) toevaluate peripheral neuropathy. the cumulative dose of paclitaxel in each patientwas also measured. the severity of symptoms was graded. incidence andreversibility of neuropathy was measured in an interview with the patient. paresthesiasappeared in 39 (86.6 %) patients after an average cumulative dose of 394 mg/m-.in most patients, pn was seen after the first or second dose (68%) of paclitaxel andthen stabilized in 36%, improved in 36%, resolved completely in 24% and progressedin 4%. there was no need to discontinue paclitaxel in any of the patients due to pn.in view of our experience in the present study, we found that paclitaxel-inducedneuropathy is a dose-dependent phenomenon, and most of the symptoms occurredafter the first or second phase of treatment.