A Case Report of Long-term Acupuncture Treatment in Bortezomib Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Objectives : We present a successful administration of acupuncture in alleviating persistant peripheral neuropathy due to bortezomib, a potent therapeutic agent of mutlple myeloma. Methods : A patient, experiencing numbness, coldness, tingling and weakness in her feet and hands after bortezomib treatment, was administered acupuncture for 32 weeks, 3 times/week for first 4 weeks and 2 times/week the last 28 weeks, in bilateral acupuncture points, ST36, ST40, EX-LE10, LI11, TE5, and EX-UE9. Responses were assessed at the end of every 4 weeks with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group(ECOG) grading system, National Cancer Institute - Common Toxicity Criteria(NCIC-CTC) v4.0, Numeric Rating Scale(NRS) 0-10, and Neuropathy Pain Scale (NPS). Results : ECOG was improved from 2 to 1, NCIC-CTC from 2 to 1, NRS from 8 to 1, and NPS from 41 to 5 through 32 weeks of acupuncture treatment. Conclusions : It is conceivable that acupuncture can be a help to relieve bortezomib induced peripheral neuropathy.