High Dose Inorganic Selenium for Preventing Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Summary

This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of high dose inorganic selenium in preventing and relieving chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian, or primary peritoneal cancer patients. This study will be conducted as a phase III randomized controlled trial in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian, or primary peritoneal cancer patients who are expected to undergo paclitaxel-carboplatin chemotherapy. A total of 68 patients need to be enrolled in this study. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the frequency of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. The secondary objectives are the evaluation of the severity of peripheral neuropathy and the quality of life to show that selenium is effective in preventing and relieving peripheral neuropathy induced by paclitaxel. Positive results in this study will lead to further studies investigating the effect of selenium on other chemotherapies that can induce peripheral neuropathy.

Timeline

Start

2019-12-24

Primary completion

2023-04-30

Completion

2024-12-31

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper While the primary endpoint was not met, selenium showed the potential of protective effects against motor neuropathy without safety and survival concerns. PMID 41630017 ↗

Publications

• Background Hay CM, Courtney-Brooks M, Lefkowits C, Hagan TL, Edwards RP, Donovan HS. Symptom management in women with recurrent ovarian cancer: Do patients and clinicians agree on what symptoms are most important? Gynecol Oncol. 2016 Nov;143(2):367-370. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2016.08.235. Epub 2016 Aug 13.
• Background Hausheer FH, Schilsky RL, Bain S, Berghorn EJ, Lieberman F. Diagnosis, management, and evaluation of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Semin Oncol. 2006 Feb;33(1):15-49. doi: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2005.12.010.
• Background Park SB, Kwok JB, Asher R, Lee CK, Beale P, Selle F, Friedlander M. Clinical and genetic predictors of paclitaxel neurotoxicity based on patient- versus clinician-reported incidence and severity of neurotoxicity in the ICON7 trial. Ann Oncol. 2017 Nov 1;28(11):2733-2740. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdx491.
• Background Mols F, Beijers T, Vreugdenhil G, van de Poll-Franse L. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and its association with quality of life: a systematic review. Support Care Cancer. 2014 Aug;22(8):2261-9. doi: 10.1007/s00520-014-2255-7. Epub 2014 May 1.
• Background Molassiotis A, Cheng HL, Lopez V, Au JSK, Chan A, Bandla A, Leung KT, Li YC, Wong KH, Suen LKP, Chan CW, Yorke J, Farrell C, Sundar R. Are we mis-estimating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy? Analysis of assessment methodologies from a prospective, multinational, longitudinal cohort study of patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy. BMC Cancer. 2019 Feb 8;19(1):132. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-5302-4.
• Background Carozzi VA, Canta A, Chiorazzi A. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: What do we know about mechanisms? Neurosci Lett. 2015 Jun 2;596:90-107. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2014.10.014. Epub 2014 Oct 22.
• Background Duggett NA, Griffiths LA, McKenna OE, de Santis V, Yongsanguanchai N, Mokori EB, Flatters SJ. Oxidative stress in the development, maintenance and resolution of paclitaxel-induced painful neuropathy. Neuroscience. 2016 Oct 1;333:13-26. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.06.050. Epub 2016 Jul 5.
• Background Erken HA, Koc ER, Yazici H, Yay A, Onder GO, Sarici SF. Selenium partially prevents cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity: a preliminary study. Neurotoxicology. 2014 May;42:71-5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2014.04.002. Epub 2014 Apr 19.
• Background Argyriou AA, Chroni E, Koutras A, Ellul J, Papapetropoulos S, Katsoulas G, Iconomou G, Kalofonos HP. Vitamin E for prophylaxis against chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: a randomized controlled trial. Neurology. 2005 Jan 11;64(1):26-31. doi: 10.1212/01.WNL.0000148609.35718.7D.
• Background Argyriou AA, Chroni E, Koutras A, Iconomou G, Papapetropoulos S, Polychronopoulos P, Kalofonos HP. Preventing paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy: a phase II trial of vitamin E supplementation. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2006 Sep;32(3):237-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.03.013.
• Background Ghoreishi Z, Esfahani A, Djazayeri A, Djalali M, Golestan B, Ayromlou H, Hashemzade S, Asghari Jafarabadi M, Montazeri V, Keshavarz SA, Darabi M. Omega-3 fatty acids are protective against paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy: a randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial. BMC Cancer. 2012 Aug 15;12:355. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-12-355.
• Yim GW, Han KH, Lee ST, Lee M, Lee SM, Kim HS. Efficacy and safety of intravenous administration of high-dose selenium for preventing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer: a phase 3, double-blind, parallel group, randomized controlled pilot study. BMC Med. 2026 Feb 2;24(1):131. doi: 10.1186/s12916-026-04637-x.
• Park SJ, Yim GW, Paik H, Lee N, Lee S, Lee M, Kim HS. Efficacy and safety of intravenous administration of high-dose selenium for preventing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, fallopian or primary peritoneal cancer: study protocol for a phase III, double-blind, randomized study. J Gynecol Oncol. 2021 Sep;32(5):e73. doi: 10.3802/jgo.2021.32.e73. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

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