Efficacy of Exercise Rehabilitation Program in Relieving Oxaliplatin Induced Peripheral Neurotoxicity

BACKGROUND: Peripheral neurotoxicity is common in patients with digestive malignancies receiving chemotherapy containing oxaliplatin, and there is still no effective drug to prevent or treat this complication. METHODS: Seventy-nine patients receiving chemotherapy containing oxaliplatin were included, and the relationship between chemotherapy regimens, cycles, and cumulative dose of oxaliplatin and peripheral neurotoxicity was analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups of control or intervention. Twenty-eight patients in the control group received routine chemotherapy care, and 51 patients in the intervention group underwent two-week exercise rehabilitation program. Patients’ Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group – Neurotoxicity (FACT/GOG-Ntx), functional tests, and Brief Pain Inventory(BPI) scores as well as interference life scores were assessed before intervention and two weeks after the intervention. RESULTS: In the intervention group, 52.9% patients previously exercised regularly. The FOLFOX regimen was more common in peripheral neurotoxicity (73.4%), and the median oxaliplatin cycles for neurotoxicity was 9 (ranging from 1 to 16). The mean cumulative dose of oxaliplatin was 1080.02 ± 185.22 mg, both the cycles and cumulative dose were positively correlated with the occurrence of peripheral neurotoxicity. Compared with control, the scores of FACT/GOG-Ntx, functional tests, and BPI were significantly decreased in the intervention group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy cycles and cumulative doses were in relation with OIN , and exercise rehabilitation program could effectively alleviate OIN.