Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Dysfunction in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objectives: The major aims of this integrative review were to identify: 1) specific cognitive domains affected by chemotherapy; 2) predictors of cognitive dysfunction related to chemotherapy; 3) reported underlying mechanisms of chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction, and 4) clinical and research implications of chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction (CRCD) among breast cancer survivors. Methods: A computerized search of published research articles through the health journal databases of PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Web of Science was performed by using the keywords "chemotherapy," "cognitive dysfunction," "cognitive impairment," "cognitive decline," "breast cancer," and "breast carcinoma." References were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: After screening the titles and abstracts of 639 articles, 20 research studies were identified that focused on chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction in breast cancer for the final analysis. The 20 studies included: one longitudinal study, eleven prospective studies, two casecontrol studies, two retrospective studies, and four cross-sectional studies. The analysis of these 20 research studies contributed new knowledge about cognitive domains being affected by chemotherapy, risk factors for CRCD and underlying mechanisms of CRCD. Conclusion: This systematic review indicates significant clinical implications of early assessment and early interventions for CRCD to assist breast cancer survivors.

Research Trends on Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Non-Central Nervous System Cancer: Text Network Analysis and Topic Modeling

“…The third group, namely "related factors for cognitive decline," consisted of keywords related to demographics, diseases, and treatments for various cancer types and cog-nitive decline, which accounted for 18.1% of the analyzed papers. This result reflects that most CRCI-related research was aimed at identifying cognitive impairment characteristics, predictors, influencing factors, and mechanisms [26,27]. Subjective or objective cognitive impairment of patients with cancer includes demographic characteristics such as age, education level, and intelligence (IQ); treatment-related characteristics such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery; psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, stress, and worry; and other factors such as sleep disturbance and fatigue [26,28,29].…”