Single-center randomized trial of hand cooling and compression for prevention of taxane-induced neuropathy in breast cancer patients

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, dose-limiting adverse effect of taxane-based chemotherapy. Currently, there is no established strategy for prevention or treatment. The randomized POLAR trial, at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (Heidelberg, Germany), evaluated 1-sided hand cooling and compression for preventing CIPN in patients receiving weekly neoadjuvant or adjuvant nab-paclitaxel or paclitaxel for primary breast cancer. Both interventions significantly reduced the incidence of grade 2 or higher CIPN (cooling: 29% of patients experiencing high-grade CIPN in the cooling arm versus 50% in the control arm; p=0.002; compression: 24% versus 38%; p=0.008).The authors conclude that both hand cooling and compression are highly effective in preventing sensory CIPN during taxane-based chemotherapy.