Charles Loprinzi, MD of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN discusses treatment options for patients with established neuropathy. If a chemotherapy treatment is completed it is possible to wait and see if the symptoms get better with time, as each treatment has potential side effects. A standard approach, duloxetine is a reasonable option, as recommended by the ASCO guidelines. Other options mentioned by ASCO include gabapentinoids, however efficacy data for chemotherapy-induced neuropathy are limited. Tricyclic antidepressants may be considered but they may cause additional side effects. Dr Loprinzi highlights a scrambler therapy as a way to treat established neuropathy. The scrambler therapy is not universally available and randomized clinical trials are ongoing to establish benefits of this therapy for patients. Moreover, exercise and cryotherapy look promising for neuropathy prevention. Recorded at the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) and International Society of Ocular Oncology (ISOO) 2016 Annual Meeting on Supportive Care in Cancer held in Adelaide, Australia.
