A recent analysis of published studies estimates that one-quarter of adults with breast cancer have cognitive impairment before starting therapy. The analysis, which is published in Psycho-Oncology, also found that many patients’ cognitive function declines after receiving chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and/or hormone therapy for breast cancer.
“Our results suggest that cancer-related and personal factors may make a significant contribution to cognitive functioning,” said lead author Aicha Dijkshoorn, of the University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
The authors noted that the findings from different studies were quite diverse, and some even reported cognitive improvements in patients after treatment. They stressed the importance of evaluating and addressing cognitive function, ideally over time, in patients with breast cancer.
World Cancer Day is February 4th.
Additional Information
Link to Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pon.5623
About Journal
Psycho-Oncology is concerned with the psychological, social, behavioral, and ethical aspects of cancer. This subspeciality addresses the two major psychological dimensions of cancer: the psychological responses of patients to cancer at all stages of the disease, and that of their families and caretakers; and the psychological, behavioral and social factors that may influence the disease process. Psycho-oncology is an area of multi-disciplinary interest and has boundaries with the major specialities in oncology: the clinical disciplines (surgery, medicine, pediatrics, radiotherapy), epidemiology, immunology, endocrinology, biology, pathology, bioethics, palliative care, rehabilitation medicine, clinical trials research and decision making, as well as psychiatry and psychology.
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