Mild Cognitive Impairment in Breast Cancer Patients
Condition: Breast Cancer; Cognitive Impairment
MeSH terms: Breast Neoplasms; Cognitive Dysfunction
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of potential changes in size, shape
      and activity in some brain areas that can occur in women receiving different types of Breast
      Cancer therapy, and how these changes are related to the development of mild cognitive
      impairment as the result of these treatments.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study aims to identify neuroimaging biomarkers for predicting mild cognitive impairment
      (MCI) in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemo and/or hormonal therapy by examining
      hippocampal-cortical neurocircuitry. Adjuvant therapies increase long-term survival, but
      produce changes in cognitive function in 30% (up to 70%) of women on average with breast
      cancer. Cognitive decline negatively impacts quality of life in patients and their
      supporters. Therefore, early identification of patients at risk for developing
      treatment-related cognitive impairment is needed to develop potential prevention or treatment
      options and prevent further decline. Our recent work demonstrates that patients receiving
      adjuvant hormonal treatment exhibit decline in cognition as soon as three months post
      treatment. Although neuroimaging studies have identified brain changes associated with
      chemotherapy ("chemo brain", no investigation has assessed the type and severity of such
      changes following hormonal therapy, nor has any study determined which individuals are at
      greatest risk for cognitive impairment.

      Our central hypothesis is that measures of the hippocampal-cortical integrity can be used to
      predict cognitive decline, and changes of specific domains of cognitive performance in
      patients receiving adjuvant therapy over time will be related to changes in specific
      components of this circuitry over time.
    

Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Participants will be recruited from the following sites, all affiliated with Northwestern
        University Feinberg School of Medicine (NUFSM): a) outpatient facility at Galter Pavilion
        of Northwestern Medicine; b) Maggie Daley Center for Women's Cancer Care at Prentice
        Women's Hospital; and c) Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center at Prentice Women's
        Hospital.

        Participants will also be recruited a) via advertisement in local newspapers, craigslist,
        Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (RHLCC) Cancer Survivorship Institute website,
        and at community programs that serve cancer patients, including hospitals and support
        groups; and b) from community educational events sponsored by RHLCC, Women's Health
        Research Institute, and Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center (CNADC).
      
Keywords: breast cancer; invasive ductal carcinoma; cognitive impairment; adjuvant therapy; hormone therapy; hormonal therapy; chemotherapy; chemo brain; MRI