| Title |
A feasibility study exploring the role of pre-operative assessment when examining the mechanism of ‘chemo-brain’ in breast cancer patients
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
SpringerPlus, March 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s40064-016-2030-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Valerie Jenkins, Ryan Thwaites, Mara Cercignani, Sandra Sacre, Neil Harrison, Hefina Whiteley-Jones, Lisa Mullen, Giselle Chamberlain, Kevin Davies, Charles Zammit, Lucy Matthews, Helena Harder |
| Abstract |
Women receiving chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer may experience problems with their memory and attention (cognition), which is distressing and interferes with quality of life. It is unclear what causes or contributes to the problems they report: psychological distress, fatigue, coping style, or specific biological changes for example to pro inflammatory cytokines. Research shows however, that approximately a third of women with breast cancer perform poorly on tests of cognition before commencing chemotherapy. We aimed to examine the acceptability and relevance of pre-surgical assessments (bloods, brain imaging, cognitive tests and self-report questionnaires) when investigating the phenomenon of 'chemo-brain' and investigate whether inflammatory markers mediate chemotherapy-induced neuropsychological impairments in women treated for breast cancer. Women with early stage breast cancer completed neuropsychological and quality of life assessments at T1 (pre-surgery), T2 (post-surgery before chemotherapy) and T3 (6 months later). Blood cytokine levels were measured at the same time points and brain imaging was performed at T1 and T3. In total, 14/58 women participated (8 chemotherapy, 6 non-chemotherapy). Prior to the start of chemotherapy a decline in cognitive performance compared to baseline was observed in one participant. At T3 women who received chemotherapy reported poorer quality of life and greater fatigue. Increases in soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor II (sTNFRII), interleukin-6, interleukin-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor occurred post chemotherapy only. Levels of sTNFRII were inversely correlated with grey matter volume (GMV) of the right posterior insula in both groups. At T3, the chemotherapy group displayed a greater reduction in GMV in the subgenual and dorsal anterior cingulate, and the inferior temporal gyrus. Pre-operative recruitment to the study was challenging; however, the lack of significant changes in blood cytokine levels and neuropsychological tests at T2 implies that post surgery may be a valid baseline assessment, but this needs further investigation in a larger study. The preliminary results support the hypothesis that chemotherapy induced fatigue is mediated by a change in peripheral cytokine levels which could explain some symptoms of 'chemo brain' experienced by patients. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 33% |
| Unknown | 2 | 67% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 3 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 79 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 78 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 11 | 14% |
| Student > Master | 11 | 14% |
| Other | 10 | 13% |
| Student > Bachelor | 9 | 11% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 11% |
| Other | 15 | 19% |
| Unknown | 14 | 18% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 12 | 15% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 12 | 15% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 8 | 10% |
| Neuroscience | 7 | 9% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 3 | 4% |
| Other | 16 | 20% |
| Unknown | 21 | 27% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 13 April 2016.
All research outputs
#15,366,818
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Outputs from SpringerPlus
#932
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Outputs of similar age
#180,521
of 301,016 outputs
Outputs of similar age from SpringerPlus
#95
of 181 outputs
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