Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May;61(5):587-594.
doi: 10.1002/mus.26833. Epub 2020 Feb 24.

Neuromuscular ultrasound for taxane peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer

Thomas W Lycan  1 , Fang-Chi Hsu  2 , Christine S Ahn  3 , Alexandra Thomas  1 , Francis O Walker  4 , Omar P Sangueza  5 , Yusuke Shiozawa  6 , Sun Hee Park  6 , Christopher M Peters  6 , Edgar Alfonso Romero-Sandoval  7 , Susan A Melin  1 , Steven Sorscher  1 , Katherine Ansley  1 , Glenn J Lesser  1 , Michael S Cartwright  4 , Roy E Strowd  4
Affiliations

Neuromuscular ultrasound for taxane peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer

Thomas W Lycan et al. Muscle Nerve. 2020 May.

Abstract

Background: Our study aim was to evaluate neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) for the assessment of taxane chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), the dose-limiting toxicity of this agent.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of breast cancer patients with taxane CIPN measured nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) by NMUS and compared with healthy historical controls. Correlations were determined between CSA and symptom scale, nerve conduction studies, and intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD).

Results: A total of 20 participants reported moderate CIPN symptoms at a median of 3.8 months following the last taxane dose. Sural nerve CSA was 1.2 mm2 smaller than healthy controls (P ≤ .01). Older age and time since taxane were associated with smaller sural nerve CSA. For each 1 mm2 decrease in sural nerve CSA, distal IENFD decreased by 2.1 nerve/mm (R2 0.30; P = .04).

Conclusions: These data support a sensory predominant taxane neuropathy or neuronopathy and warrant future research on longitudinal NMUS assessment of CIPN.

Keywords: breast cancer; chemotherapy; neuropathy; taxane; ultrasound.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
CONSORT flow diagram
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Representative imaging by NMUS. A, Median nerve at forearm in participant 3 (CSA, 9 mm2). B, Median nerve at wrist in participant 3 (CSA, 25 mm2). C, Sural nerve in participant 6 (CSA, 4 mm2). D, tibial nerve in participant 6 (CSA, 19 mm2)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Giordano SH, Lin YL, Kuo YF, Hortobagyi GN, Goodwin JS. Decline in the use of anthracyclines for breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30(18): 2232–2239. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Budman DR, Berry DA, Cirrincione CT, et al. Dose and dose intensity as determinants of outcome in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. The Cancer and Leukemia Group B. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998;90 (16):1205–1211. - PubMed
    1. Osmani K, Vignes S, Aissi M, et al. Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy has good long-term prognosis: a 1- to 13-year evaluation. J Neurol. 2012;259(9):1936–1943. - PubMed
    1. Winters-Stone KM, Horak F, Jacobs PG, et al. Falls, Functioning, and disability among women with persistent symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35(23):2604–2612. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lavoie Smith EM, Barton DL, Qin R, Steen PD, Aaronson NK, Loprinzi CL. Assessing patient-reported peripheral neuropathy: the reliability and validity of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-CIPN20 Questionnaire. Qual Life Res. 2013;22(10):2787–2799. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms