Self-Reported Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairment Compared with Cognitive Complaints following Menopause
Menée aux Etats-Unis, cette étude analyse, chez les patientes atteintes d'un cancer traité par chimiothérapie, leurs déficiences cognitives auto-déclarées en prenant en compte les effets des symptômes de la ménopause
Objective : Cancer‐related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly reported following the administration of cancer treatment. Current longitudinal studies, primarily in women with breast cancer, suggest that up to 35%–60% of patients exhibit persistent CRCI (pCRCI) following completion of chemotherapy. Complaints of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are also commonly reported by women during and following the menopause transition in non‐cancer patients. Although the majority of evidence for cognitive difficulties in cancer patients and survivors is attributed to chemotherapy, there is growing evidence to suggest that menopausal status can also influence cognitive function in cancer patients. Methods : Given that menopausal status may be contributing to pCRCI, we compared a group of primarily post‐menopausal women with pCRCI to two groups of post‐menopausal women: women who endorse menopause‐associated SCD (maSCD+) and women who do not (maSCD‐) to explore the similarities/differences between maSCD and pCRCI and the potential role of menopause in pCRCI. Results : pCRCI participants report more severe SCD symptoms than women after natural menopause, despite being on average 2.5‐years post‐chemotherapy, supporting previous findings that CRCI can persist for months to years after completing treatment. pCRCI participants not only endorsed greater SCD, but also exhibited objective performance differences. In addition, pCRCI participants endorsed significantly greater menopausal symptoms compared to either maSCD group. Results were not related to menopausal status prior to chemotherapy or current endocrine therapy use. Conclusions : These results suggest that while menopausal symptoms may contribute to SCD experienced by cancer patients after chemotherapy, they do not fully account for pCRCI.