Discussion
neuropathic symptoms, neuropathy, breast cancer, CIPN, stocking-and-glove
NEUROPATHY, CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED NAUSEA AND VOMITING, BREAST CANCER
This randomized controlled trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy of compression therapy using normal-sized surgical gloves to prevent CIPN in patients with breast cancer receiving paclitaxel treatment. We believe the results of this study could potentially provide valuable evidence for a practical, cost-effective, and easily accessible intervention for CIPN prevention. The primary outcome will be assessed using the FACT-Taxane NTX component questionnaire—a patient-reported outcome measure that has gained increasing importance in clinical trials to accurately capture patients’ experiences and symptoms. Additionally, the multicenter study design may increase the generalizability of the results.CIPN typically presents as a symmetric, distal, stocking-and-glove distribution. However, the current intervention targets the upper extremities, thereby limiting preventive effects on the lower extremities. Thus, the assessment of generalized QoL and systemic symptoms may compromise our expected results. Nevertheless, studies have shown that after completing the paclitaxel treatment, approximately 50% of patients exhibit improvements within a 4–6-month period [In many cases, CIPN naturally improves over time following the cessation of chemotherapy; however, severe neuropathy can persist. For instance, Hershman et al. reported that up to 80% of patients in their study experienced neuropathic symptoms for up to 2 years after treatment [Surprisingly, unlike chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, the prevention of CIPN is not widespread. As PN can reduce treatment adherence and cause long-term issues, prevention should be considered during chemotherapy that can induce PN, regardless of the risk. However, no clear recommendation for CIPN prevention is currently available. Cryotherapy using frozen gloves showed promising results in small studies, and some neuropathy symptoms were alleviated [