Lipidomic Predictors of Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) is a common, dose-limiting, and often irreversible toxicity that profoundly diminishes patients' long-term quality of life and compromises taxane treatment efficacy. This study aimed to identify and replicate plasma lipidomic biomarkers of TIPN and paclitaxel pharmacokinetics (PK).

This retrospective analysis used data from a prospective cohort of female patients with early-stage breast cancer receiving once weekly paclitaxel. TIPN was assessed pretreatment and once weekly before each infusion using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-CIPN20 sensory subscale (CIPN8). Paclitaxel PK parameters were estimated from blood samples collected within 10 minutes before the end of first infusion (C_max) and 16-24 hours later (T_c>0.05). Plasma lipidomics were quantified using the end-of-infusion sample. Linear mixed-effects and linear regression models were used to identify lipids associated with TIPN severity and paclitaxel PK, respectively, with a prespecified false discovery rate of 0.05.

Among 36 patients, lower sphingomyelin (SM 40:1;3O, a random representative of nine correlated lipids), lower lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE O-22:1), higher ceramide (Cer 36:0;2O), and higher phosphatidylinositol (PI 34:2) were associated with greater sensory TIPN. Previously reported associations of phosphoethanolamines, triacylglycerols, and phosphatidylglycerols lipid classes with TIPN were not replicated. Reduced levels of seven correlated lipid species from the (lyso)phosphatidylethanolamine and (lyso)phosphatidylcholine classes were associated with higher paclitaxel C_max.

End-of-first-infusion lipidomic profiles identified candidate biomarkers associated with TIPN severity and paclitaxel C_max. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and inform the development of lipid-guided personalized treatment strategies that mitigate TIPN and improve long-term outcomes.