Prevalence and predictors of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy among female breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Lagos.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a major side effect associated with chemotherapy. It can lead to detrimental dose reductions and discontinuation of treatment because of its significant effect, which impairs the quality of life among the surviving population of cancer patients. This study assesses the prevalence and predictors of CIPN among female breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH and LASUTH), respectively.

Methods: 261 women with histologically confirmed breast cancer who had just concluded first line chemotherapy were recruited for this study. The relevant data was obtained using a designed/semi-structured questionnaire for patient demographic information, and clinical information was retrieved from the participants' medical records, CIPN symptoms were collected using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer CIPN20 and analysed.

Results: Two hundred and sixty-one female breast cancer patients receiving either neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 49.98 +/- 11.4 years. 72.9% (183) among the study participants reported symptoms of CIPN at the end of chemotherapy. One hundred and fifty-seven (62.5%) had mild neuropathy, 23(9.2%) had moderate neuropathy and 3 (1.2%) had severe neuropathy. 31.1% (74) of patients at 2 months after completion of chemotherapy still reported symptoms of CIPN. Numbness in both hands and legs was found to be the most common symptom reported by the participants and the majority of the participants experienced mild to moderate symptoms.

Conclusion: The prevalence of CIPN was high at the completion of chemotherapy (72.9%), and there was a significant decline in the prevalence at two months after completion of treatment (31.1%). Numbness was the most commonly reported symptom among the participants and the majority of the participants experienced mild symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.