Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Sep;16(9):81.
doi: 10.1007/s11910-016-0686-x.

Chemotherapy-Related Neurotoxicity

Affiliations
Review

Chemotherapy-Related Neurotoxicity

Sophie Taillibert et al. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Chemotherapy may have detrimental effects on either the central or peripheral nervous system. Central nervous system neurotoxicity resulting from chemotherapy manifests as a wide range of clinical syndromes including acute, subacute, and chronic encephalopathies, posterior reversible encephalopathy, acute cerebellar dysfunction, chronic cognitive impairment, myelopathy, meningitis, and neurovascular syndromes. These clinical entities vary by causative agent, degree of severity, evolution, and timing of occurrence. In the peripheral nervous system, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and myopathy are the two main complications of chemotherapy. CIPN is the most common complication, and the majority manifest as a dose-dependent length-dependent sensory axonopathy. In severe cases of CIPN, the dose of chemotherapy is reduced, the administration delayed, or the treatment discontinued. Few treatments are available for CIPN and based on meta-analysis, duloxetine is the preferred symptomatic treatment. Myopathy due to corticosteroid use is the most frequent cause of muscle disorders in patients with cancer.

Keywords: Chemobrain; Chemotherapy; Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy; Encephalopathy; Myopathy; Neurotoxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. J Neurol. 2011 Sep;258(9):1729-31 - PubMed
    1. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Jul 1;32(19):2031-8 - PubMed
    1. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Aug 23;(8):CD011091 - PubMed
    1. Ann Oncol. 2011 Aug;22(8):1763-9 - PubMed
    1. J Clin Oncol. 2006 Sep 20;24(27):4507-14 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources