# Assessment measures for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy among pediatric oncology patients: an updated systematic review

## TL;DR

This paper updates a review of tools used to assess chemotherapy-induced nerve damage in children with cancer, identifying new methods and confirming existing ones.

## Contribution

The study identifies two new patient-reported outcome measures for CIPN in pediatric oncology patients with acceptable quality.

## Key findings

- The ped-mTNS and TNS-PV remain the most appropriate tools for assessing CIPN in pediatric patients.
- Two new patient-reported outcome measures for CIPN were identified with acceptable quality.
- Only one of the five included studies was rated as high quality.

## Abstract

To update the systematic review of assessment tools on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) for pediatric oncology patients based on the evidence available after the published review in 2020.

Seven English-language databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus and Web of Science) were searched for studies published from Nov 9, 2018, to May 20, 2024.

Studies that contained subjects who had a cancer diagnosis and were aged under 18 years and discussed the development of a tool to measure CIPN or assessed all test items and response categories for CIPN were included.

Data were screened and extracted independently using predesigned tables. The quality of each study was assessed based on Joanna Briggs Institute’s critical appraisal tools for analytical cross-sectional studies and case control studies. The quality of identified instruments for CIPN was evaluated by the modified version of Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) tool.

A total of 5 studies (with 633 patients) were included in the systematic review. Only one study was rated as high quality. We newly identified two patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), one objective assessment and a pain scale, and three new studies about the previous identified CIPN assessment measures.

Based on the current evidence, the pediatric-modified Total Neuropathy Score (ped-mTNS) and the Total Neuropathy Score-Pediatric Vincristine (TNS-PV) are still the two most appropriate tools for healthcare professionals to use in clinical settings. Our results also addressed the gap in existing literature by showing two newly PROMs for CIPN in pediatric oncology patients with acceptable quality. The combination of physician-based assessment tools and PROMs are recommended to evaluate the patients’ CIPN-related symptoms.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-025-09515-5.