Yoga for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy and Fall Risk: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, debilitating side effect that worsens quality of life and increases the risk of falls in cancer survivors. Evidence of yoga's safety and efficacy in treating CIPN is lacking. METHODS: In a randomized controlled study, we assigned breast and gynecological cancer survivors with persistent moderate-to-severe CIPN pain, numbness, or tingling with a score of 4 or greater (0-10 numeric rating scale [NRS]) for at least 3 months after chemotherapy to 8 weeks of usual care or yoga focused on breathwork and musculoskeletal conditioning. Primary endpoint was treatment arm differences for NRS, and secondary endpoints were Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity subscale (FACT/GOG-Ntx), and Functional Reach Test after week 8. We tested treatment arm differences for each outcome measure using linear mixed models with treatment-by-time interactions. All statistical tests were two-sided. Four grade 1 adverse events were observed in the yoga arm. CONCLUSION: Among breast and gynecological cancer survivors with moderate-to-severe CIPN, yoga was safe and showed promising efficacy in improving CIPN symptoms.