Research has shown that chemotherapy can inadvertently trigger a stress response in immune cells that triggers inflammation and damages nerves. Blocking this stress alarm in mice prevented nerve pain and protected their nervous system. The drug, which is already in clinical trials to treat cancer, could have the same protective effect in humans. Initial blood tests suggest the possibility of predicting which patients will develop symptoms of nerve damage earlier, before they become clinically apparent. Nerve damage after chemotherapy, known as neuropathy, manifests as pain, numbness or tingling, particularly in the hands and feet. Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy affects approximately 30-40 % of patients treated with certain cytostatics. Until now, there is no effective drug to prevent this neuropathy, so the discovery of a new drug with the ability to block the inflammatory mechanism is a major advance. This approach could improve the quality of life of patients undergoing chemotherapy.