Topical interventions for preventing hand-foot syndrome resulting from antineoplastic therapy: A scoping review.
Fernanda Cristina Gialaim Purcino Dos Reis, Amanda Gomes de Menêses, Simone Roque Mazoni and 3 others
PMID 37947365WHAT IT FOUND
Forty-two topical interventions were mapped to prevent hand-foot syndrome in adult cancer patients.
Urea and moisturizing creams were most studied; this scoping review did not show which intervention works.
Key findings
01The review included 45 studies and mapped 42 topical interventions for preventing hand-foot syndrome in adult cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or targeted therapy.
02Urea was the most investigated intervention, with 28 studies, followed by moisturizing creams with 11 studies and corticosteroids with 7 studies.
03Twenty of the 45 included studies were randomized controlled trials.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review mapped interventions rather than testing whether they work. Only 20 of the 45 included studies were randomized controlled trials. Many studies did not report the active ingredient or concentration, especially for topical anti-inflammatories, antioxidants and moisturizing creams. Some studies did not report which hand-foot syndrome scale they used. Only four studies specified hand-foot syndrome degree 2 or lower as an inclusion criterion. The review excluded studies published in languages that do not use the Latin-Roman alphabet.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the mapping of urea or moisturizing creams as proof that they prevent hand-foot syndrome. This scoping review mapped what has been studied, and the included studies used different products, concentrations and schedules; it did not test effectiveness.