Assessment of cognitive functioning in women with breast cancer before starting treatment cancer

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the cognitive achievement previous to oncological treatment in a group of breast cancer women included in a longitudinal study. Method: Thirty five non metastatic breast cancer women, with a mean age of 48.6 years old, were assessed in different neurocognitive domains and also in some psychological variables (emotional distress and subjective perception of cognitives failures) before to start the oncological treatment. Results: Twenty two percent of the group received chemotherapy alone, 28.6% hormonotherapy and 48.6% a mixed treatment (chemotherapy plus hormonotherapy). Results show that: (1) Bewteen a 62% and a 100% of the women present a normal achievement in the different cognitive domains, except for visual memory where only 43% gets into the normality. (2) There is a light cognitive impairment in selective attention (23.5%) and visual memory (14.4%), also there is a severe cognitive impairment in attention and processing speed (28.6%) and visual memory (22.9%). (3) A low percentage of women shows high levels of emotional distress, 2.9% for depression and 14.5% for anxiety. (4) The 71% reports a low subjective perception of cognitives failures. (5) Neurocogntive test and psychological variables do not show any correlation. (6) Subjective perception of cognitive failure correlates with anxiety (r = – 0.409). Conclusion: A reduced number of patients shows cognitive impairment before to start the oncological treatment, a small percentage of this group shows severe impairment. It is very important to have a baseline of cognitive functioning to correctly assess these patients. It is also necesary to review the methodology and the neurocognitive test used