Mostly this affects hands and feet. Neuropathy is a real nuisance as a dose-limiting toxicity. Initially felt as tingling sensation then as numbness, damage to nerves calls a halt to the treatment, even if the treatment is holding the cancer in check. If neuropathy is missed or ignored, patients may end up unable use fingers or having difficulty balancing and walking, unable to feel their feet.
Nerve damage can also affect hearing and cause deafness.
Now a computer-engineered drug designed to help minimize neuropathy is being tested in clinicaltrials. Data from animal and laboratory studies was presented at AACR to show that BNP7787 does protect against platinum and taxane induced toxicities.