Docetaxel neuropathy: a distal axonopathy

Docetaxel has been implicated as a causative agent in peripheral neuropathy , but pathological changes in peripheral nerve have not been described. Dur ing docetaxel treatment a 54-year-old man developed a sensorimotor polyneur opathy when the overall docetaxel dosage was 540 mg/m(2). Neurophysiologica l investigation revealed a sensorimotor axonal neuropathy Fascicular sural nerve biopsy showed an axonal neuropathy with a preferentially loss of larg e myelinated fibers. There was evidence of considerable fiber regeneration. Sensory and motor symptoms progressively improved after docetaxel withdraw al.