Goshajinkigan reduces oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy without affecting anti-tumour efficacy in rodents

Oxaliplatin is a key drug in the treatment of colorectal cancer, but it causes acute and chronic neuropathies in patients. Goshajinkigan (GJG) is a Kampo medicine that is used for the treatments of several neurological symptoms including pain and numbness. More recently, GJG has been reported to prevent the oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy in clinical studies. No experimental study, however, has been conducted to date to determine the effect of GJG on pain behaviour in a rat model of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy. Moreover, the impact on the anti-tumour effect of oxaliplatin remains unknown. In the present study, we examined the effects of GJG on the peripheral neuropathy and anti-tumour activity of oxaliplatin in rodents. Repeated administration of oxaliplatin caused cold hyperalgesia from days 3 to 37 and mechanical allodynia from days 21 to 28. Repeated administration of GJG prevented the oxaliplatin-induced cold hyperalgesia but not mechanical allodynia and axonal degeneration in rat sciatic nerve. Single administration of GJG reduced both cold hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia after the development of neuropathy. In addition, GJG did not affect the anti-tumour effect of oxaliplatin in the tumour cells or tumour cells-implanted mice. These results suggest that GJG relieves the oxaliplatin-induced cold hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia without affecting anti-tumour activity of oxaliplatin, and, therefore, may be useful for the oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy in clinical practice.