Understanding chemotherapy-related nerve pain | Dr Marta Seretny

In this short talk, Dr Marta Seretny presents the preliminary results of a study seeking to identify which cancer chemotherapy patients will go on to develop the side-effect of peripheral nerve pain.

Around 2 in 3 chemotherapy patients develop peripheral nerve pain, or neuropathy. 3 in 10 patients who survive their cancer continue to suffer from this chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or CIPN, after the treatment has ended. 70,000+ new cases of CIPN are diagnosed every year. CIPN can cause patients to require a lower treatment dose during chemotherapy, or even force them to stop treatment altogether.

Dr Seretny's work is the first study looking at the brain's influence on CIPN, despite the brain being central to perception of pain in the outer body. She used fMRI imaging to look at the brains of 30 patients before, during and after chemotherapy.

By identifying areas of activity in the brain that correlate with increased risk of developing CIPN, Dr Seretny hopes to use these biomarkers to contribute to the development of personalised chemotherapy.

Dr Marta Seretny is an anaesthetic registrar in the South East Scotland School of Anaesthesia, Edinburgh, and a Wellcome Trust Clinical Academic PhD Fellow with the Scottish Translational Medicine and Therapeutics Initiative.

Dr Seretny's research can be viewed in full here:

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[stevengarcia]

I'm dumbfounded that the doctors treating my wife seem to have no clue about this. They just continue going by the book of "8 treatments is what's proven... cannot deviate." Well now they're deviating because they see the damage it's doing. It's frustrating.

[izzybella]

My husband also had non hodgkins lymphoma in 2003. Shortly after finishing chemo he developed pains starting with hip joints and knees. It has slowly gotten worse over many years. Circa in 2012 he noticed that his cartilage must have been affected as well because his vertebras weren't aligned properly. A chiropractor could fix it but it also has gotten worse over time. The cartilage tissue in all of his joints seems to be eroded. Possibly also a side effect of the toxins of the chemo medications? Also numbness, tingling, cold sensitivity, needle pains etc. Anyway, he suffers from substantial chronic pain all over. Especially his spine. He has taken Pregabalin for many years now.

[izzybella]

Amazing information by the way! Will be looking into this further!

[catherineberry]

Just wondering can Cipn happen after chemo is finished

[Riverrage_]

The pa wanted my dose lowered but the dr won’t now the pain in my feet makes it impossible to operate heavy equipment! And a lot of days walking becomes painful! I’ve fallen and broke my hip because of my feet! An I have get a letter every other month from ss about my work! I wish I would not have gotten treatment