HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - MRI changes in brain detected for "chemobrain"

Lani · 11-27-2006, 12:40 PM

Good news--apparently improve with time
Bad news--study done for CMF chemo, not AC/T, TCH or other herceptin-including regimens

MRI Scans Show Brain Structure Changes After Chemotherapy

November 27, 2006 — Breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy often complain of cognitive impairment after the treatment, symptoms that have been termed "chemobrain." Now a study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has found brain changes in such patients, suggesting a potential effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on brain structure, say the researchers. The findings come from a Japanese study in Cancer, published online November 27, 2006.

The changes were seen at 1 year after chemotherapy but were not visible after 3 years. This "can lead us to speculate that the brain volume change related to adjuvant chemotherapy may well recover over the course of time," the researchers comment.

The study was headed by Masatoshi Inagaki, MD, PhD, from the National Cancer Center Hospital East, in Chiba, and relied on databases containing brain MRI scans of breast cancer survivors. The team compared scans from patients who had been exposed to chemotherapy (including tegafur-uracil [UFT], cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil) with those who had not been exposed and looked at scans taken within 1 year of surgery and more than 3 years after surgery.

The 1-year study showed that patients exposed to chemotherapy (n = 51) had smaller regional volumes of both gray and white matter than patients who had not been exposed (n = 55). The brain regions affected included the prefrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, and precuneus, and the volumes of these 3 regions were significantly correlated with indices of attention/concentration and/or visual memory, the researchers comment.

The 3-year study showed no significant differences in regional brain volumes between those exposed to chemotherapy (n = 73) and those not exposed (n = 59). The mean time from completion of adjuvant chemotherapy to this MRI scan was 4.2 years.

11-27-2006, 12:40 PM	#1
Lani Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4,778	MRI changes in brain detected for "chemobrain" Good news--apparently improve with time Bad news--study done for CMF chemo, not AC/T, TCH or other herceptin-including regimens MRI Scans Show Brain Structure Changes After Chemotherapy November 27, 2006 — Breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy often complain of cognitive impairment after the treatment, symptoms that have been termed "chemobrain." Now a study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has found brain changes in such patients, suggesting a potential effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on brain structure, say the researchers. The findings come from a Japanese study in Cancer, published online November 27, 2006. The changes were seen at 1 year after chemotherapy but were not visible after 3 years. This "can lead us to speculate that the brain volume change related to adjuvant chemotherapy may well recover over the course of time," the researchers comment. The study was headed by Masatoshi Inagaki, MD, PhD, from the National Cancer Center Hospital East, in Chiba, and relied on databases containing brain MRI scans of breast cancer survivors. The team compared scans from patients who had been exposed to chemotherapy (including tegafur-uracil [UFT], cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil) with those who had not been exposed and looked at scans taken within 1 year of surgery and more than 3 years after surgery. The 1-year study showed that patients exposed to chemotherapy (n = 51) had smaller regional volumes of both gray and white matter than patients who had not been exposed (n = 55). The brain regions affected included the prefrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, and precuneus, and the volumes of these 3 regions were significantly correlated with indices of attention/concentration and/or visual memory, the researchers comment. The 3-year study showed no significant differences in regional brain volumes between those exposed to chemotherapy (n = 73) and those not exposed (n = 59). The mean time from completion of adjuvant chemotherapy to this MRI scan was 4.2 years.