New approach for treatment of radiotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a pilot observational study

• Main Authors: D. Cosentino, F. Piro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Verduci Editore 2019-12-01
• Series: International Journal of Medical Device and Adjuvant Treatments
• Subjects: radiotherapy; quality of life; myo-inositol; l-acetylcarnitine; chronic pain
• Online Access: https://www.ijmdat.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/01/e218-New-approach-for-treatment-of-radiotherapy-induced-peripheral-neuropathy-a-pilot-observational-study.pdf

Objective: Chronic pain represents one of the most important causes of oncological treatment discontinuation, a condition induced or exacerbated by the same anti-tumour therapies. Upstream to chronic pain there is the neuronal degeneration of peripheric nervous system, known as peripheric neuropathy. The aim of this study is to improve pain perception in oncological patients subjected to radiotherapy and affected by peripheric neuropathy. Materials and Methods: 21 oncological patients, subjected to radiation therapy for prostate, endometrial or breast cancer, reporting skeletal system pain were enrolled. All 21 patients have received a combination of L-acetylcarnitine (LAC - 500 mg), myo-inositol (MI - 500 mg) and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA - 300 mg) in sachets (Neutakis® Farmares, Rome, Italy). The treatment protocol provided for three different phases, the baseline (T0), at 30 days (T1) and at 60 days (T2). From T0 to T1, all patients have taken 2 sachets of combination, one in the morning and one in the evening, and from T1 to T2, the dosage was reduced to only one sachet in the morning. To evaluate treatment effects, all patients have reported their perception of stiffness, fatigue, tiredness on awakening, sleep disturbances, pain and daily activities, depression and musculoskeletal pain using Visual Analog Scale (VAS), quality of life by the Quality of Life Questionnaire SF36 and depression by Hamilton Questionnaire at the 3 timepoint. Results: The treatment is resulted able to improve patient perception of stiffness and fatigue sensations, facilitating their daily activities. Moreover, a greater physical functioning, social functioning, general health and vitality, were reported by all patients. These data were confirmed also by Hamilton Questionnaire, with the improvement of depression score in all patients. Conclusions: Considering these data, we can affirm that the study supports the positive effects of these molecules helping physicians for chronic pain management.