Journal of Pain Research (Apr 2024)
The Efficacy of Neuromodulation Interventions for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Runbing Xu,1,* Changhe Yu,2,* Xinyu Zhang,1 Yipin Zhang,1 Mengfei Li,1 Bei Jia,1 Shiyan Yan,3 Miao Jiang1,4 1Hematology and Oncology Department, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Affiliated Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Tuina and Pain Management Department, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Affiliated Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Miao Jiang, School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Gongchen Street, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8613511072205, Email [email protected] Shiyan Yan, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Gongchen Street, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8613521436209, Email [email protected]: To determine the efficacy and safety of a neuromodulation intervention regimen in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).Patients and Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in seven English databases. Randomized controlled trials of all neuromodulation interventions (both invasive and non-invasive) for the treatment of CIPN were selected. Group comparisons of differences between interventions and controls were also made. We divided the outcomes into immediate-term effect (≤ 3 weeks), short-term effect (3 weeks to ≤ 3 months), and long-term effect (> 3 months).Results: Sixteen studies and 946 patients with CIPN were included. Among immediate-term effects, neuromodulation interventions were superior to usual care for improving pain (SMD=− 0.77, 95% CI − 1.07~ 0.47), FACT-Ntx (MD = 5.35, 95% CI 2.84~ 7.87), and QOL (SMD = 0.44, 95% CI 0.09~ 0.79) (moderate certainty); neuromodulation loaded with usual care was superior to usual care for improving pain (SMD=− 0.47, 95% CI − 0.71 ~ − 0.23), and QOL (SMD = 0.40, 95% CI 0.12 ~ 0.69) (moderate certainty). There were no statistically significant differences between the neuromodulation interventions regimen vs usual care in short- and long-term outcomes and neuromodulation vs sham stimulation from any outcome measure. There were mild adverse events such as pain at the site of stimulation and bruising, and no serious adverse events were reported.Conclusion: Neuromodulation interventions had significant immediate-term efficacy in CIPN but had not been shown to be superior to sham stimulation; short-term and long-term efficacy could not be determined because there were too few original RCTs. Moreover, there are no serious adverse effects of this therapy.Keywords: chemotherapy, peripheral neuropathy, neuromodulation, systematic review, meta-analysis
