Yoga for chronic chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy pain: a pilot, randomized controlled trial

Purpose To determine the feasibility of implementing a yoga intervention for cancer survivors with chronic CIPN pain, as well as the impact of the intervention on patient-reported outcomes. Methods Cancer survivors with chronic CIPN pain were recruited from the breast, gastrointestinal, and gynecological oncology centers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Participants were randomized (2:1) to receive an 8-week yoga intervention or usual care. After 21/50 of participants were enrolled, the COVID-19 pandemic required the yoga intervention to be delivered virtually (i.e., Zoom). Pre- and post-intervention, participants self-reported CIPN and co-occurring symptom severity. Adherence to the intervention was defined as practicing >= 12 yoga sessions over the 8-week intervention period. Changes in patient-reported outcomes between groups were compared using Wilcoxon's rank-sum tests. Results Participants (n = 28 yoga, n = 16 control) were mainly female (96%) and diagnosed with stage III/IV disease (66%). Overall, 19/28 (67.8%) of yoga group participants were adherent to the yoga protocol. Yoga group participants experienced significant within-group improvements in all patient-reported outcomes, including worst CIPN pain (median change = - 1.7, p < 0.0001) and sensory CIPN (median change = - 14.8, p < 0.0001), but only improvements in fatigue (p = 0.05) and depression (p = 0.04) were significant compared to the control. There were no differences (p > 0.05) in changes in patient-reported outcomes between in-person (n = 6) or virtual (n = 15) yoga group participants. Conclusions Yoga is a feasible non-pharmacological modality for cancer survivors with CIPN, but more information is needed regarding its impact on CIPN and other symptoms. Implications for Cancer Survivors Oncology clinicians may consider referring cancer survivors to yoga for chronic CIPN pain, but yoga cannot be currently recommended as an efficacious treatment.