Saturday Nov 30, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Cancer Nursing has found that Korean women with breast cancer who have received chemotherapy suffered cognitive deficits, which has been found earlier in chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors in other ethnic groups.

The case-control study involved 32 women treated with chemotherapy for localized breast cancer and 32 healthy controls. Breast cancer patients were assessed with established methods within four months of chemotherapy and healthy control within six months of a recent negative screening mammography.

Chemotherapy-treated breast cancer patients were more often found to suffer cognitive deficits which were often more severe, compared with healthy controls.

In addition to chemotherapy, older age, less education, greater collectivist tendency, and greater childbearing burden were associated with poorer attention and working memory.

The study concluded "Cognitive deficits were found in chemotherapy-treated Korean women with moderate to large effect sizes compared with controls. Cultural characteristics contributed to worse cognitive performance."

The researchers suggested "Healthcare providers should recognize that Korean women may be highly vulnerable to cognitive deficits. Cultural factors also need to be considered when assessing cognitive function and designing therapeutic interventions to counteract negative cognitive outcomes."

It has been known for long that chemotherapy can induce cognitive dysfunction in breast cancer patients – a condition called chemobrain or chemofog.  Doctors do not know the incidence, characteristics and exact pathophysiology.  And thus measures to prevent such adverse effects are not available currently.

Ongoing research suggests that potentially useful treatments for chemotherapy-related cognitive deficits in breast cancer survivors include “hormonal interventions, antioxidants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, growth factors, dopamine agonists, cholinesterase inhibitors, antiinflammatory agents, and behavioral interventions,” according to a report published in Clinical Breast Cancer.

Common chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer include Anthracyclines (Adriamycin, Ellence, and Doxil) Taxanes (Taxotere, Taxol, and protein-bound Abraxane), Cytoxan, Xeloda and 5 fluorouracil (5 FU), Navelbine, Gemzar, Herceptin (used only for HER-2 positive breast cancer), other drugs (Ixempra, Halaven, methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall), Tykerb).

Chemotherapy side effects include the following, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Anemia 

Appetite Changes 

Bleeding Problems 

Constipation 

Diarrhea 

Fatigue (Feeling Weak and Very Tired)  

Hair Loss 

Infection 

Memory Changes (cognitive dysfunction)

Mouth and Throat Changes 

Nausea and Vomiting 

Nerve Changes 

Pain 

Sexual and Fertility Changes in Men 

Sexual and Fertility Changes in Women 

Skin and Nail Changes 

Swelling (Fluid Retention) 

Urination Changes

Breast cancer related chemotherapy side effects include the following:

Bleeding

Cognitive dysfunction

Diarrhea

Hair loss

Loss of appetite

Lowered resistance to infections

Mouth soreness

Nausea and vomiting

Premature menopause

Weakness and fatigue

Weight gain

(David Liu, PHD)