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. 2013 Jul;21(7):2059-66.
doi: 10.1007/s00520-013-1766-y. Epub 2013 Feb 28.

Falls and functional impairments in cancer survivors with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): a University of Rochester CCOP study

J S Gewandter  1 , L Fan, A Magnuson, K Mustian, L Peppone, C Heckler, J Hopkins, M Tejani, G R Morrow, S G Mohile
Affiliations

Falls and functional impairments in cancer survivors with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): a University of Rochester CCOP study

J S Gewandter et al. Support Care Cancer. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to characterize the prevalence of falls and functional impairments (FIs) and their association with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in cancer survivors.

Methods: We analyzed baseline assessments from a phase III RCT in cancer survivors with self-reported CIPN scores of >4 out of 10. Patients completed the EORTC QLQ-CIPN-20 for neuropathy and reported falls in the previous 3 months. FIs were defined using the Activities of Daily Living subsection of the Vulnerable Elder's Scale. Associations of baseline characteristics and CIPN with falls and FIs were examined using logistic regression.

Results: Of 421 patients, 11.9 % experienced recent falls and 26.6 % reported FIs. Motor neuropathy was the only factor associated with falls (OR = 1.127, p = 0.01). Factors associated with FIs included non-white race (OR = 0.335 white relative to non-white, 0.781, p = 0.01) and greater motor neuropathy scores (OR = 1.262, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: CIPN, primarily motor, is associated with falls and FIs. Future prospective research should investigate the ability of motor neuropathy severity to predict falls.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We have full control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review the data if requested.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of falls and impairments in functional capacity items
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