Abstract P4-09-08: Examining neurocognitive function in breast-cancer patients after chemotherapy
Authors: Jessica Sharpe, Marilly Palettas, Michael Grimm, Mahmoud Kassem, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Robert Wesolowski, Nicole Williams, Sagar Sardesai, Daniel Stover, Jeffrey VanDeusen, Mathew Cherian, Ashley Pariser, Margaret Gatti-Mays, Maryam Lustberg, Laura Boxley
Journal: Cancer Research (2022)

Abstract Background Chemotherapy induces neurocognitive impairment ranging from mild subjective symptoms to functional limitations of daily living. Common subjective symptoms patients report after chemotherapy include memory and concentration difficulties that are not always captured by standard neurocognitive testing (P.A. Ganz, 2012 and 2013). The goal of this retrospective study was to examine the result of a detailed neurocognitive testing battery in women with breast cancer (BC) who were self-reporting cognitive concerns. Methods This was a retrospective single center study on BC patients who had undergone treatment with surgical resection, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and/or radiation therapy and completed outpatient neuropsychological evaluation. Neurocognitive tests included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Trails Making test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient demographics, clinical characteristics and neurocognitive test scores. Comparisons of neurocognitive scores between patients receiving chemotherapy, radiation, chemotherapy and radiation, or no chemotherapy or radiation were assessed using Wilcoxon sign tests. Results Fifty-three women with BC were included. The average age was 55 (STD 11) years; 39 (74%) patients underwent chemotherapy. Of the patients who underwent chemotherapy, 24 (62%) underwent anthracycline-based therapy, and 10 (26%) underwent non-anthracycline based therapy. Thirty-six (68%) patients had invasive ductal carcinoma, and 8 (15%) had invasive lobular carcinoma. Most patients were either stage 1 or 2, 17 (32%) and 20 (38%), respectively. Additionally, 68% (36 patients) were ER positive, 25% (13) were ER negative, and 49% (26) were PR positive with 42% (22) PR negative. Twelve (22%) patients were HER2 positive, and 31 (59%) were HER2 negative. Results from the neurocognitive tests evaluated are included in Table 1. Results showed that the longest times to complete the Trails tests were in patients who underwent both chemotherapy and radiation (three times more errors in this group than the group who did not undergo any treatment), and the increase in errors in the WCST in patients receiving chemotherapy was two and a half times greater than the no treatment group, although results were not statistically significant. Conclusions This study highlights the challenges of finding reliable assessment tools for measuring cognitive concerns in BC survivors. On a highly selected group of patients with self-reported cognitive concerns, we did not find statistically significant differences in neurocognitive testing across different treatment arms. The Trails tests and WCST both examine the same domain of executive functioning and are a detailed way of examining this aspect of neurocognitive functioning. Although no difference was detected between treatment groups for the Trails tests and the WCST, the changes in the number of errors in the WCST and the Trails B sorting time, which is influenced by the Trails A test, suggest that there are likely quantifiable changes experienced by BC patients undergoing chemotherapy compared to those who do not undergo chemotherapy. Future work will expand on these results by examining a larger sample of BC patients and by comparing them to their age-matched peers without cancer. Table 1.Neurocognitive test results listed as Median [Interquartile Range].VariableNo chemotherapy, no radiation (n=6)Chemotherapy, no radiation (n=15)No chemotherapy, radiation (n=8)Chemotherapy and radiation (n=24)P-valueMMSE t-score48 [29, 50]47 [42, 50]46.5 [34, 54]47 [43, 57]0.850Trials A time (seconds)33 [31, 38]32.5 [25, 42]37 [23, 55]32 [27, 44]0.940Trails B time (seconds)86 [47, 87]90 [69, 124]82 [48, 109]99 [80, 137]0.460WCST-128 total errors raw score14 [14, 53]36 [13, 47]20 [10, 53]48 [22, 68]0.175 Citation Format: Jessica Sharpe, Marilly Palettas, Michael Grimm, Mahmoud Kassem, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Robert Wesolowski, Nicole Williams, Sagar Sardesai, Daniel Stover, Jeffrey VanDeusen, Mathew Cherian, Ashley Pariser, Margaret Gatti-Mays, Maryam Lustberg, Laura Boxley. Examining neurocognitive function in breast-cancer patients after chemotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-09-08.