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Prevention of Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Breast Cancer Patients

Evaluation of the Effect of Pentoxifylline on the Prevention of Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Breast Cancer Patients

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05189535
Enrollment
66
Registered
2022-01-12
Start date
2021-10-03
Completion date
2023-09-28
Last updated
2024-01-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Breast Cancer Female, Peripheral Neuropathy

Keywords

Breast cancer, pentoxifylline, paclitaxel, Taxol, peripheral neuropathy, Trental

Brief summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of pentoxifylline 400 mg twice daily administration on the prevention of paclitaxel-Induced peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer patients.

Detailed description

Paclitaxel induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN) starts early during therapy and may worsen even after cessation and affect mainly sensory neurons. The symptoms of neuropathy include pain, tingling, cold-sensitivity and numbness that typically presents in a stocking glove distribution. The pathogenesis of PIPN may be attributed to drug accumulation in dorsal root ganglia causing increase in inflammatory cytokines, immune mediators and dysregulation of calcium subunits which in turn increases pain. It also causes oxidative stress in sensory axons leading to axon demyelination, increased sensitization to signal transduction, release of pro-inflammatory mediators and activation of apoptosis. Many animal studies and clinical trials have shown pentoxifylline to have a significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. It also preserved nerve conduction velocity and ameliorated mechanical hyperalgesia. Pentoxifylline showed a prominent reduction in neuropathic pain in diabetic patients. These effects were mainly due to the ability of pentoxifylline to reduce TNF-α and MDA levels. So, pentoxifylline is a drug of interest due to its ability to ameliorate neuro-inflammation and oxidative stress which play a critical role in PIPN pathogenesis.

Interventions

DRUGPaclitaxel

Paclitaxel I.V 80 mg/m2 weekly

DRUGPlacebo

placebo

DRUGPentoxifylline

Pentoxifylline 400 mg oral tablet twice daily for 12 weeks.

Sponsors

Ain Shams University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

single blinded

Intervention model description

A prospective, randomized, placebo controlled

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Adult patients (18-80 years old). * Female patients. * Pathologically proved breast cancer. * Breast cancer patients who will receive adjuvant and neoadjuvant weekly paclitaxel for 12 weeks. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance ≤ 2 * Adequate bone marrow function. * Adequate liver and kidney function.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with preexisting clinical neuropathy. * Patients with diabetes mellitus. * Metastatic breast cancer. * Patients receiving medications that ameliorate neuropathy like; antidepressants, anticonvulsants, opioids, adjuvant or topical analgesics. * Patients treated with medications that increase the risk of neuropathy. * Hypersensitivity to pentoxifylline or xanthine derivatives. * Patients with recent (within 1 month) surgery, myocardial infarction (MI), intracranial or retinal bleeding or active peptic ulcer. * Patients at high risk for bleeding or taking medications that increase risk of bleeding.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Incidence of Paclitaxel induced-peripheral neuropathy12 weeksNumber of patients reported neuropathy due to paclitaxel

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Grade of severity of Paclitaxel induced-peripheral neuropathy in patients who developed neuropathyat baseline and on weekly bases for 12 weeksSeverity of neuropathic symptoms will be graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Version 5 (CTCAE v5)
Evaluation of Safety and tolerability of pentoxifyllineevaluation on weekly bases for 12 weeks.side effects reported due to pentoxifylline will be recorded.
The need for dose reduction or drug discontinuation in pentoxifylline and placebo arm.12 weeksnumber of patients who needed dose reduction or drug discontinuation due to paclitaxel induced neuropathy will be recorded.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)at baseline and after 12 weeksmeasuring serum level of tumor necrosis factor using ELISA kit
Serum malondialdehyde (MDA)at baseline and after 12 weeksmeasuring serum level of malondialdehyde.
The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity(FACT-GOG-NTX) subscaleat baseline, week 1 in each cycle (cycle length is 21 days) up to 12 weeks and at week 12.evaluating the functional difficulties and quality of life related to paclitaxel induced neuropathic symptoms. score range from (0-44) where lower score indicates more sever symptoms according to the FACT-GOG-NTX scoring guideline.
Time to develop neuropathy12 weeksmean time to develop grade 3 or 4 neuropathy

Countries

Egypt

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 5, 2026