High Tone Therapy for Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a side effect of antineoplastic medication, was reported to occur in about 68% of the patients receiving chemotherapy. CIPN does not only limit quality of life due to neuropathic symptoms but also may lead to dose reductions or premature interruption of therapy and thus to suboptimal cancer treatment. Patients with neuropathy suffer from sensory disturbances as tingling, numbness, burning pain or sleep disturbances and even though numerous drugs are available, it is still difficult to sufficiently control these Symptoms. High tone therapy / high tone external muscle stimulation (HTEMS) seems to be an effective treatment for neuropathic symptoms. Previous studies observed promising results in diabetics and chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. To date, there is no investigation on HTEMS in patients with chemotherapy induced neuropathy. Therefore, this aim of this project is to test if HTEMS would bring about a stronger decrease in neuropathic symptoms in this specific patient group, compared to a placebo treatment. The primary objective is the alleviation of paresthesias. The secondary objective focuses on detailed symptoms of neuropathiy as well as on health-related quality of life.