Our aim was to assess the significance of measuring serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels as a biomarker of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (PIPN). We longitudinally measured sNfL in breast cancer patients, scheduled to receive the 12-weekly paclitaxel-based regimen. Patients were clinically examined by means of the Total Neuropathy Score-clinical version (TNSc), while sNfL were quantified, using the highly sensitive Simoa technique, before starting chemotherapy (baseline), after 2 (week 2) and 3 (week 3) weekly courses, and at the end of chemotherapy (week 12). Among 59 included patients (mean age: 53.1 ± 11.5 years), 33 (56%) developed grade 0-1 and 26 (44%) grade 2-3 PIPN at week 12. A significant longitudinal increase of sNfL levels from baseline to week-12 was determined, whereas patients with TNSc grade 2-3 PIPN had significantly increased sNfL levels at week 12, compared to those with grade 0-1. receiver-operated characteristics (ROC) analysis defined a value of NfL of >85 pg/mL at week 3 as the best discriminative determination to predict the development of grade 2-3 PIPN at week 12 (sensitivity 46.2%, specificity 84.8%). The logistic binary regression analysis revealed that age > 50 years and the cutoff of >85 pg/mL of sNfL levels at week 3 independently predicted the development of grade 2-3 PIPN at week 12 with a sensitivity of 46%, a specificity of 91%, and a positive and negative predictive values of 75% and 67%, respectively. sNfL levels seem to be a valuable biomarker of neuro-axonal injury in PIPN. An early increase of this biomarker after a 3-weekly chemotherapy course can be a predictive marker of final PIPN severity.
Keywords: biomarker; chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity; paclitaxel; prediction; serum neurofilament light chain.
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