MRI to study cognitive changes following breast cancer chemotherapy.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mechanistic imaging of cognitive changes following chemotherapy for breast cancer.
IRAS ID
125714
Contact name
Robert Dineen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Research summary
Breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experience a range of psychological side effects. Problems with memory, attention and concentration (cognitive processes), are at their worst during the first weeks of chemotherapy but can last up to several years after treatment. These symptoms are sometimes referred to as ’chemobrain’. At present, there are no effective treatments to prevent these debilitating symptoms.
Animal research shows that chemotherapy damages nerve cells in the hippocampus, an area of central importance for cognitive processes, providing preliminary evidence that the cognitive symptoms may result from damage to specific populations of brain cells, rather than being a more general fatigue- or mood-related problem. Animal research also shows that certain antidepressants protect the hippocampus from chemotherapy-related damage, but these have not been tested for this purpose in breast cancer patients.
Prior to testing of treatments to reduce the cognitive symptoms it is vitally important to first find evidence in real patients that this type of brain cell damage is important in the development of cognitive symptoms. To test this notion we will perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning on breast cancer patients before and shortly after receiving chemotherapy to identify changes in the structure and function of the hippocampus and relate the observed changes to cognitive performance and symptoms. If the pilot study confirms the link between hippocampal cell damage and the cognitive changes following chemotherapy, then funding will be sought for further studies to develop and test strategies that limit the effects of chemotherapy on the brain.
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EM/0177
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion