Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in women undergoing taxane-based treatment for breast cancer:  a prospective observational study

Rosiered Brownson-Smith; Jack Carr; Samuel T Orange; Nicola Cresti; John M Saxton; John Temesi

doi:10.1186/s12885-026-15750-8

Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in women undergoing taxane-based treatment for breast cancer: a prospective observational study

Rosiered Brownson-Smith
, Jack Carr
, Samuel T Orange
, Nicola Cresti
, John M Saxton
, John Temesi

Centre for Healthcare and Community Transformation (HCT)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, debilitating side effect of taxane-based chemotherapy. However, its trajectory during and after treatment remains poorly understood. This study aimed to estimate the natural history of CIPN symptoms using patient-reported and objective measures. Methods: Women with stage I-III breast cancer scheduled to receive taxane-based chemotherapy underwent CIPN assessments at five timepoints (pre-chemotherapy, post-anthracycline, mid-taxane, post-taxane, and 6-month follow-up) using physical function tests, patient-reported outcomes, quantitative sensory testing, H-reflex assessments, and static balance testing. Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Results: Twelve participants enrolled (48% of eligible patients, 100% retention). Self-reported autonomic (all timepoints), motor (post-anthracycline and post-taxane) and sensory (post-taxane and 6-month follow-up) symptoms were greater than pre-chemotherapy (all p < 0.05). Health-related quality of life was impaired at all timepoints compared to pre-chemotherapy. Maximal H-reflex amplitude normalised to maximal M-wave amplitude (Hmax/Mmax) decreased post-taxane (-0.23, 95% CI -0.36 to -0.10, p = 0.001) and at 6-month follow-up (-0.27, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.16, p < 0.001). Anterior-posterior (mid-taxane: 8 mm, 95% CI 2 to 13 mm, p = 0.007; post-taxane: 9 mm, 95% CI 4 to 15 mm, p = 0.001) and total (mid-taxane, p

Original language	English
Article number	404
Number of pages	15
Journal	BMC Cancer
Volume	26
Issue number	1
Early online date	19 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-026-15750-8
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 19 Feb 2026

Bibliographical note

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Funding

This work was supported by Northumbria University. Author RB-S has received research support from Northumbria University.

Funders
Northumbria University

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
Taxanes
Quality of life
Breast cancer

Access to Document

10.1186/s12885-026-15750-8Licence: CC BY

s12885-026-15750-8Final published version, 1.85 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in women undergoing taxane-based treatment for breast cancer: a prospective observational study",

abstract = "Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, debilitating side effect of taxane-based chemotherapy. However, its trajectory during and after treatment remains poorly understood. This study aimed to estimate the natural history of CIPN symptoms using patient-reported and objective measures. Methods: Women with stage I-III breast cancer scheduled to receive taxane-based chemotherapy underwent CIPN assessments at five timepoints (pre-chemotherapy, post-anthracycline, mid-taxane, post-taxane, and 6-month follow-up) using physical function tests, patient-reported outcomes, quantitative sensory testing, H-reflex assessments, and static balance testing. Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Results: Twelve participants enrolled (48\% of eligible patients, 100\% retention). Self-reported autonomic (all timepoints), motor (post-anthracycline and post-taxane) and sensory (post-taxane and 6-month follow-up) symptoms were greater than pre-chemotherapy (all p < 0.05). Health-related quality of life was impaired at all timepoints compared to pre-chemotherapy. Maximal H-reflex amplitude normalised to maximal M-wave amplitude (Hmax/Mmax) decreased post-taxane (-0.23, 95\% CI -0.36 to -0.10, p = 0.001) and at 6-month follow-up (-0.27, 95\% CI -0.39 to -0.16, p < 0.001). Anterior-posterior (mid-taxane: 8 mm, 95\% CI 2 to 13 mm, p = 0.007; post-taxane: 9 mm, 95\% CI 4 to 15 mm, p = 0.001) and total (mid-taxane, p",

keywords = "Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, Taxanes, Quality of life, Breast cancer",

author = "Rosiered Brownson-Smith and Jack Carr and Orange, \{Samuel T\} and Nicola Cresti and Saxton, \{John M\} and John Temesi",

note = "Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article{\textquoteright}s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article{\textquoteright}s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. ",

year = "2026",

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day = "19",

doi = "10.1186/s12885-026-15750-8",

language = "English",

volume = "26",

journal = "BMC Cancer",

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T1 - Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in women undergoing taxane-based treatment for breast cancer

T2 - a prospective observational study

AU - Brownson-Smith, Rosiered

AU - Carr, Jack

AU - Orange, Samuel T

AU - Cresti, Nicola

AU - Saxton, John M

AU - Temesi, John

N1 - Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

PY - 2026/2/19

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N2 - Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, debilitating side effect of taxane-based chemotherapy. However, its trajectory during and after treatment remains poorly understood. This study aimed to estimate the natural history of CIPN symptoms using patient-reported and objective measures. Methods: Women with stage I-III breast cancer scheduled to receive taxane-based chemotherapy underwent CIPN assessments at five timepoints (pre-chemotherapy, post-anthracycline, mid-taxane, post-taxane, and 6-month follow-up) using physical function tests, patient-reported outcomes, quantitative sensory testing, H-reflex assessments, and static balance testing. Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Results: Twelve participants enrolled (48% of eligible patients, 100% retention). Self-reported autonomic (all timepoints), motor (post-anthracycline and post-taxane) and sensory (post-taxane and 6-month follow-up) symptoms were greater than pre-chemotherapy (all p < 0.05). Health-related quality of life was impaired at all timepoints compared to pre-chemotherapy. Maximal H-reflex amplitude normalised to maximal M-wave amplitude (Hmax/Mmax) decreased post-taxane (-0.23, 95% CI -0.36 to -0.10, p = 0.001) and at 6-month follow-up (-0.27, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.16, p < 0.001). Anterior-posterior (mid-taxane: 8 mm, 95% CI 2 to 13 mm, p = 0.007; post-taxane: 9 mm, 95% CI 4 to 15 mm, p = 0.001) and total (mid-taxane, p

AB - Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, debilitating side effect of taxane-based chemotherapy. However, its trajectory during and after treatment remains poorly understood. This study aimed to estimate the natural history of CIPN symptoms using patient-reported and objective measures. Methods: Women with stage I-III breast cancer scheduled to receive taxane-based chemotherapy underwent CIPN assessments at five timepoints (pre-chemotherapy, post-anthracycline, mid-taxane, post-taxane, and 6-month follow-up) using physical function tests, patient-reported outcomes, quantitative sensory testing, H-reflex assessments, and static balance testing. Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Results: Twelve participants enrolled (48% of eligible patients, 100% retention). Self-reported autonomic (all timepoints), motor (post-anthracycline and post-taxane) and sensory (post-taxane and 6-month follow-up) symptoms were greater than pre-chemotherapy (all p < 0.05). Health-related quality of life was impaired at all timepoints compared to pre-chemotherapy. Maximal H-reflex amplitude normalised to maximal M-wave amplitude (Hmax/Mmax) decreased post-taxane (-0.23, 95% CI -0.36 to -0.10, p = 0.001) and at 6-month follow-up (-0.27, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.16, p < 0.001). Anterior-posterior (mid-taxane: 8 mm, 95% CI 2 to 13 mm, p = 0.007; post-taxane: 9 mm, 95% CI 4 to 15 mm, p = 0.001) and total (mid-taxane, p

KW - Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

KW - Taxanes

KW - Quality of life

KW - Breast cancer

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DO - 10.1186/s12885-026-15750-8

M3 - Article

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