Hui Miao1, Jingjing Li2, Sheng Hu1, Xiaoxuan He1, Savannah C Partridge3, Jian Ren4, Yunpeng Bian1, Yongqiang Yu5, Bensheng Qiu6. 1. Centers for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China. 2. Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, China. 3. Department of Radiology, University of Washington, 825 Eastlake Ave, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. 4. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA. 5. Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China. 6. Centers for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China. Electronic address: bqiu@ustc.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy, a prominent treatment for breast cancer (BC), can have detrimental side effects on the patient's cognitive functions including the executive function. However, the neurophysiological mechanism of the cognitive impairment remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to explore long-term chemotherapy-related functional connectivity changes using fMRI and the relationship between the connectivity changes and the executive function impairment in breast cancer patients. METHODS: In this study, twenty-three breast cancer patients were treated with chemotherapy and twenty-six healthy subjects were recruited as the healthy control (HC) group. The functional connectivity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was calculated from resting-state fMRI of the BC and control groups. The relationship between the functional connectivity of ACC and the executive function was further analyzed based on the patient' response time of the Stroop Interference Test. RESULTS: The results show that functional connectivity of ACC in the BC group is significantly lower than that in the control group. The correlation analysis within the BC group indicates that the functional connectivity of ACC was significantly correlated with the executive function. CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence that the functional connectivity changes might be a pathophysiological basis for long-term chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction, along with executive function impairment in breast cancer patients.
BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy, a prominent treatment for breast cancer (BC), can have detrimental side effects on the patient's cognitive functions including the executive function. However, the neurophysiological mechanism of the cognitive impairment remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to explore long-term chemotherapy-related functional connectivity changes using fMRI and the relationship between the connectivity changes and the executive function impairment in breast cancerpatients. METHODS: In this study, twenty-three breast cancerpatients were treated with chemotherapy and twenty-six healthy subjects were recruited as the healthy control (HC) group. The functional connectivity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was calculated from resting-state fMRI of the BC and control groups. The relationship between the functional connectivity of ACC and the executive function was further analyzed based on the patient' response time of the Stroop Interference Test. RESULTS: The results show that functional connectivity of ACC in the BC group is significantly lower than that in the control group. The correlation analysis within the BC group indicates that the functional connectivity of ACC was significantly correlated with the executive function. CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence that the functional connectivity changes might be a pathophysiological basis for long-term chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction, along with executive function impairment in breast cancerpatients.
Authors: Haijun Chen; Ke Ding; Jingjing Zhao; Herta H Chao; Chiang-Shan R Li; Huaidong Cheng Journal: Am J Cancer Res Date: 2019-08-01 Impact factor: 6.166
Authors: Sabine Deprez; Shelli R Kesler; Andrew J Saykin; Daniel H S Silverman; Michiel B de Ruiter; Brenna C McDonald Journal: J Natl Cancer Inst Date: 2018-03-01 Impact factor: 13.506