Improvement of painful bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy following acupuncture treatment in a case series of patients with multiple myeloma.

Abstract

e19569 Background: Peripheral neuropathy is a common and severe dose-limiting side effect of the chemotherapy agent, bortezomib, in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Treatment with narcotics, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants has limited response and the potential for significant side effects. Acupuncture has been reported to be effective in treating neuropathic pain (Alimi, JCO, 2003). There has been no reporting on the effect of acupuncture in treating bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN). Here we report a case series of using acupuncture to relieve painful BIPN. Methods: We report the result of a retrospective case series of five MM patients suffering from painful BIPN. Three patients were assessed for severity of BIPN using 0-10 numeric pain scale and the other two were assessed using Clinical Total Neuropathy Score, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity questionnaire or Neuropathy Pain Scale. Acupuncture was planned on a weekly basis with adjustm...