Vahdat, L., Papadopoulos, K., Lange, D., Leuin, S., Kaufman, E., Donovan, D., . . . Balmaceda, C. (2001). Reduction of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy with glutamine. Clinical Cancer Research, 7, 1192–1197.
Female participants were were admitted for cyclophosphamide (6,000 mg/m²), thiotepa (500 mg/m²) and carboplatin (800 mg/m²) over 96 hours seven and four days prior to stem cell transplantation. Mesna (7,400 mg/m²; 1,500 mg/m² per day) was administered by continuous infusion over 120 hours. After December 1998, women enrolled in the study received glutamine (10 g orally three times daily) for four days starting 24 hours after the completion of paclitaxel. Data were collected at baseline and two weeks after completion of chemotherapy. In addition, paired pre- and post-paclitaxel evaluations were performed on all women.
Women who received glutamine had fewer symptoms, with 8% of women who received glutamine reporting dysesthesias in the fingers and toes, as compared to 40% of the women who did not receive glutamine. In addition, the frequency of moderate to severe numbness was observed less often in the glutamine-treated group than in the non-glutamine group for both fingers and toes. Moderate to severe parasthesias also were observed less frequently in those who received glutamine.