Potential Mechanisms for Chemotherapy-Induced Impairments in Cognitive Function

Abstract

The ability to identify high-risk patients has important implications for practice in regard to informed consent, patient education about the effects of treatment, and preventive strategies.

Avaliação da qualidade de vida de pacientes com câncer submetidos à quimioterapia

“…This suggests that chemotherapy drugs have mechanisms that harm cognitive function. The evidence cognitive dysfunction by chemotherapy drugs are shown in a study that reported that the mechanisms causing such harms are leukoencephalopathy and the inflammatory response in the brain, both induced by the responses of cytokines, anemia, and early menopause (13) .…”

“…The protocols involved in this study are described as triggers of leukoencephalopathy (5-FU, Methotrexate, Paclitaxel, and Cyclophosphamide) and inducers of the inflammatory process (Doxorubicin) that harm the cognitive function, causing, for instance, lack of concentration, reduced visual and spatial ability, and reduced memory (13) . The side effects also affected the CF, with the smallest means in patients with the strongest gastrointestinal, physical, and emotional symptoms.…”

Possible links between behavioral and physiological indices of tiredness, fatigue, and exhaustion in advanced cancer

“…The presence of these cytokines further compromise muscle endurance through their effect on lean tissue loss and anemia, and are also associated with decreased cognition and fatigue [14,15,32,37,42], two of the other core concepts in the EFF. C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute phase protein synthesized by the liver in response to cytokines released in the early phase of inflammation, is a well-established marker of systemic inflammation in advanced cancer [17,22].…”

A prospective longitudinal study of chemotherapy-induced cognitive changes in breast cancer patients

“…Protective individual characteristics may include intelligence and educational levels. Factors that may increase risk include: concomitant effects of breast cancer and its treatment (e.g., medications, fatigue, depression, anxiety), indirect and direct effects of chemotherapy (e.g., chemotherapy-induced anemia or menopause), as well as individual patient characteristics (e.g., increasing age, menopausal status) [15].…”