Comparative Analysis of the Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairments in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Community-Based Research

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of two common chemotherapy regimens on breast cancer (BC) survivors’ cognition. The participants comprised 35 patients with BC who underwent two chemotherapy regimens, AC-T and TAC, and 24 matched healthy volunteers. The participants were assessed regarding cognitive function through Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination and Cambridge Brain Science tests. The results represent the AC-T regimen to be more toxic than the TAC in domains of language, concentration, and visuospatial working memory (P-value = 0.036, 0.008, and 0.031, respectively) and should be prescribed with caution in patients with BC suffering from baseline cognitive impairments.

Keywords:

• Breast cancer
• cancer related cognitive impairment (CRCI)
• cognitive impairment
• attention
• visuospatial working memory

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank DANA Brain Health Institute; Iranian Neuroscience Society, Fars Chapter, Shiraz, Iran for the received support.

Compliance with ethical standards

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Health and Safety: all mandatory laboratory health and safety procedures have been complied while conducting any experimental work reported in this study. Any potential hazards that may occur during carrying out the procedures have been explained to all participants.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Additional information

Funding

Partial financial support was received from the School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran [ID: 15307].