Session Information
Session Title: AA 2022 Posters - Pain and Spine Medicine
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Hemant Kalia, MD, MPH, FIPP: abbott (Products/Services: No) (Consultant/Advisory Board, Research Grant includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received)
Case Diagnosis: A 56-year-old female with metastatic breast cancer and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in the lower limbs.
Case Description or Program Description: The patient presented to the clinic with neuropathic pain in both feet and anterior shin with dysesthesias and allodynia, and without any dermatomal preference. Medical history included type 2 diabetes, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and breast cancer with spinal metastases. Electromyography and nerve conduction studies were undertaken to confirm CIPN. The patient received a single application of Qutenza® (QTZ; capsaicin 8% topical system) which was applied to the legs and feet.
Setting: Community Practice.
Assessment/Results: The patient reported a greater than 50% improvement in her index pain after a single application of QTZ. There was also a 40% reduction in the dose of pregabalin over the course of 4 months. The clinical benefit has lasted for approximately 4 months to date.
Discussion (relevance): CIPN is a frequent adverse effect associated with antineoplastic chemotherapy with prevalence rates reported between 30-68%. Clinically, CIPN is mostly a sensory neuropathy that may be accompanied by motor and autonomic changes of varying intensity and duration. Currently, there are no effective preventative or definitive treatment strategies for CIPN. Thus, there is an unmet need for alternative effective treatment options. Although QTZ is not currently approved for CIPN, there is evidence from clinical trials supporting its use, as well as other treatments currently used to treat neuropathic pain.
Conclusions: This case report highlights the clinical benefit of QTZ in a female patient with metastatic breast cancer and peripheral neuropathy in the legs as a result of her cancer treatment.
Level of Evidence: Level V
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Kalia H, Son MY. Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy in a Patient with Metastatic Breast Cancer Treated with Qutenza®: A Case Report [abstract]. PM R. 2022; 14(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/chemotherapy-induced-peripheral-neuropathy-in-a-patient-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-treated-with-qutenza-a-case-report/. Accessed May 16, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2022
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/chemotherapy-induced-peripheral-neuropathy-in-a-patient-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-treated-with-qutenza-a-case-report/