Survey of the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in Japan: Japanese Society of Medical Oncology

BACKGROUND: Various drugs are administered for the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in Japan. However, there have been no surveys undertaken to identify these drugs or their frequency of prescription. Therefore, we administered a questionnaire survey to the diplomates of the Subspecialty Board of Japanese Society of Medical Oncology (JSMO) to investigate the frequency of administration of different drugs for the management of CIPN in Japan. METHODS: We investigated the use of vitamin B(12), antiepileptic agents such as pregabalin, duloxetine, antidepressants other than duloxetine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids and the Kampo compound goshajinkigan in a questionnaire employing a three-step scale wherein A implies routine or prophylactic administration, B implies occasional administration and C implies infrequent administration. RESULTS: Considering responses A and B together, the most frequently administered drugs for the treatment of numbness were antiepileptic drugs such as pregabalin (A+B=98.7%), vitamin B(12) (74.7%), Kampo compounds (58.7%) and duloxetine (46.8%). The most frequently prescribed drugs for pain were NSAIDs (97.7%), followed by opioids (83.1%) and finally antiepileptic drugs (82.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Various drugs are frequently administered for CIPN. In addition, it was found that marked differences exist between the drugs targeted on numbness and pain.