Chemotherapy can cause nerve pain with tingling and numbness in the hands and feet. This is called chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
- Oncologists, neurologists, and pain specialists all see room for improvement in the use of guidelines, collaboration, referral, and education (for patients with) CIPN.
- Acute symptoms can also have a major impact on patients' lives. They find it important to receive good information about this.
- There are many ways to examine CIPN, but simple questions and examinations are almost always sufficient.
- Special pepper patches ('capsaicin') provide a significant reduction in nerve pain in the feet for some patients.
- A new treatment via an IV with lidocaine, given at the same time as the chemotherapy, might improve CIPN symptoms.
Why this is important: With proper attention to CIPN, existing symptoms can be (partially) treated. This reduces their impact on daily life and could improve the chemotherapy treatment.
Frank van Haren (1982) studied medicine at the Radboud University, after he worked as a junior doctor at the CWZ Intensive Care, and specialized in anesthesiology from 2008 to 2013 in the Radboud university medical center. After his fellowship in pain medicine ended in 2014, he works as anesthesiologist and pain specialist, and member of staff, at the Radboud university medical center. His PhD-research on chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) started in 2018.