Protection against oxaliplatin acute neurosensory toxicity by venlafaxine

Venlafaxine (Effexor; Wyeth Lederle) has previously shown therapeutic effects for the management of chronic and neuropathic pains. We report here the efficacy of venlafaxine upon acute neurosensory symptoms secondary to oxaliplatin toxicity. A dose of 50 mg of venlafaxine was given orally at the beginning of the oxaliplatin infusion. Patients did not experience any or very low paresthesias, even in the cold. As the results were very dramatic and reproducible, we propose that venlafaxine may be of use in the daily management of oxaliplatin-related neurosensory toxicity.