Natural History of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, ranking among the most common toxic neuropathies, primarily affects the sensory nerve modalities. Taxanes and oxaliplatin commonly cause an acute pain problem, something that presents soon after each individual dose and then generally improves over a course of days. In addition, these drugs and several other neurotoxic chemotherapy drugs commonly cause a more gradually appearing and more chronic neuropathy that primarily involves distal extremities. There are a number of similarities regarding the peripheral neuropathy caused by many chemotherapy drugs, noting that there are some distinct differences in them, also. When neurotoxic chemotherapy is stopped, neuropathy problems often improve. However, neuropathy can become a prominent problem for years, in some patients, leading to marked disabilities.