Neurocognitive Impairment as One Facet of Cancer-Related Sickness Behavior Symptoms
Menée aux Etats-Unis à partir de données portant sur 174 patientes atteintes d'un cancer du sein récemment diagnostiqué et sur 174 témoins, cette étude évalue l'association entre des comorbidités, le niveau de trois cytokines pro-inflammatoires circulantes et des dysfonctionnements neurocognitifs avant les traitements anti-cancéreux
Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is now widely recognized as a significant clinical problem that can negatively impact quality of life for many survivors long after completion of curative treatments (1,2). Less well appreciated is accumulating evidence that CRCI exists prior to initiation of chemotherapy. Emerging research strongly suggests that the common characterization of this phenomenon as “chemobrain” is a misnomer and highlights the need for new conceptualizations of the underlying mechanisms, which can then be targeted for intervention.
In this issue of the Journal, Patel and colleagues examined the relationship between neurocognitive performance on standardized tests and circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (3). In their sample of 174 postmenopausal patients, higher plasma levels of sTNF-RII (used as a marker of TNFa production) were associated with poorer memory performance. Relative to 88 age-matched control patients, newly diagnosed breast cancer patients demonstrated impaired verbal memory performance (but not impaired executive functioning or processing speed) and had higher levels of IL-1ra (but not sTNF-RII or IL-6). While several previous investigations have examined cognitive function prior to adjuvant cancer treatment, Patel and colleagues are the first to examine neurocognitive performance in breast cancer patients prior to any cancer treatment (including surgery). Patel …
Journal of the National Cancer Institute , éditorial, 2015