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. 2022 Dec;32(6):497-506.
doi: 10.1007/s10286-022-00895-w. Epub 2022 Sep 21.

Association of electrochemical skin conductance with neuropathy in chemotherapy-treated patients

Fawaz Mayez Mahfouz  1 , Susanna B Park  2 , Tiffany Li  1 , Hannah C Timmins  1 , Lisa G Horvath  3   4   5 , Michelle Harrison  3   6 , Peter Grimison  3   4 , Tracy King  7   8 , David Goldstein  9   10 , David Mizrahi  9   11
Affiliations

Association of electrochemical skin conductance with neuropathy in chemotherapy-treated patients

Fawaz Mayez Mahfouz et al. Clin Auton Res. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is an adverse event of cancer treatment that can affect sensory, motor, or autonomic nerves. Assessment of autonomic neuropathy is challenging, with limited available tools. Accordingly, it is not routinely assessed in chemotherapy-treated patients. In this study, we aimed to examine whether electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) via Sudoscan, a potential measure of autonomic function, associates with subjective and objective measures of CIPN severity and autonomic neuropathy.

Methods: A cross-sectional assessment of patients who completed neurotoxic chemotherapy 3-24 months prior was undertaken using CIPN patient-reported outcomes (EORTC-QLQ-CIPN20), clinically graded scale (NCI-CTCAE), neurological examination score (TNSc), autonomic outcome measure (SAS), and Sudoscan. Differences in CIPN severity between participants with or without ESC dysfunction were investigated. Linear regression analyses were used to identify whether ESC values could predict CIPN severity.

Results: A total of 130 participants were assessed, with 93 participants classified with CIPN according to the clinically graded scale (NCI-CTCAE/grade ≥ 1), while 49% demonstrated hands or feet ESC dysfunction (n = 46). Participants with ESC dysfunction did not significantly differ from those with no dysfunction on multiple CIPN severity measures (clinical-grade, patient-report, neurological examination), and no differences on the autonomic outcome measure (SAS) (all p > 0.0063). Linear regression analyses showed that CIPN could not be predicted by ESC values.

Conclusions: The inability of ESC values via Sudoscan to predict clinically-graded and patient-reported CIPN or autonomic dysfunction questions its clinical utility for chemotherapy-treated patients. The understanding of autonomic neuropathy with chemotherapy treatment remains limited and must be addressed to improve quality of life in cancer survivors.

Keywords: Autonomic; Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN); Electrochemical skin conductance (ESC); Sudomotor; Sudoscan.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ESC values (via Sudoscan) of the hands and feet with A patient-reported outcome measure (EORTC-QLQ-CIPN20) and B neurological examination score (TNSc); solid line the line of best fit for hand ESC, and dashed line feet ESC
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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