OBJECTIVES:
* To describe the incidence and characteristics of and change in pain related to paclitaxel infusions over several courses in patients receiving paclitaxel weekly or every 2-4 weeks with or without neurotoxic chemotherapy.
* To investigate the association between paclitaxel-induced acute pain syndrome symptoms and eventual chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.
* To perform exome-sequencing analysis and identify genetic variants that predict paclitaxel- induced peripheral neuropathy.
* To identify clinical phenotypes associated with paclitaxel toxicity (i.e., acute pain syndrome and neuropathy).
* To explore whether there are any evident differences between results seen in the majority Caucasian population and the minority populations.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are grouped according to paclitaxel dosing schedule (weekly vs every 2-4 weeks) and concurrent use of neurotoxic agent (yes vs no).
Blood samples are collected at baseline for correlative laboratory studies, including genetic biomarker and polymorphism studies.
