Researchers find test performance may be influenced by cancer treatments
Memory complaints among early-stage breast cancer patients who have undergone treatment are significantly linked to lower neuropsychological test performance, especially among those breast cancer patients who have received both chemotherapy and radiation, according to new study results.
The study, led by Dr Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, involved 189 breast cancer patients with an average age of 52 years. The women were enrolled in the study prior to starting endocrine hormone replacement therapy and approximately 1 month after initial breast cancer treatments were complete.
According to study participant questionnaires, patients with breast cancer recorded more critical cognitive complaints. Of these patients, 23.3% reported higher memory complaints, and 19% described higher complaints in relation to problem solving, reasoning, etc.
Furthermore, Ganz and colleagues found that poorer neuropsychological test scores were linked with higher degrees of cognitive complaints, with initial combination radiation and chemotherapy treatment, and with depression-related symptoms.
The study was published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Source: UCLA.