Women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer frequently report problems with memory and concentration, but two new studies suggest that chemotherapy is not the cause of these problems, and the stress of the diagnosis may be.
The studies will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12–19, 2008.
“This is an important issue, particularly as survival rates for breast cancer improve,” said study author David G. Darby, MD, chief medical officer of CogState Ltd., an Australian company that developed the cognitive tests used in the studies. “People could be making decisions about whether or not to have chemotherapy based on stories they've heard about ‘chemofog' or ‘chemobrain.' Hopefully this information will help people make informed decisions.”
For Darby's study, 30 women with breast cancer were given cognitive tests before each cycle of chemotherapy and again one month after the final cycle. They were compared to 30 healthy women who were also tested five times about a month apart.
The women with breast cancer had slight problems in attention and learning skills before chemotherapy started. Chemotherapy resulted in only a minor slowing in thinking speed. Three women, or 10 percent, developed cognitive problems during chemotherapy.
“We also found that the women who reported that they had problems with memory, concentration and other cognitive skills were not actually the ones who developed problems as determined by the tests,” Darby said.