Changes in the structural connectom of the brain in patients with postmastectomy syndrome

Abstract

Background. After breast cancer treatment, up to 90 % of patients suffer from various neurological and mental disorders, such as vertebrobasilar insufficiency, chronic pain syndrome, anxiety and depression. These disorders can cause structural changes in the white matter tracts of the brain, which can be detected using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI).Objective. To evaluate structural changes in the white matter tracts of the brain in patients with post-mastectomy syndrome using DT-MRI.Design and methods. The study was carried out on a tomograph with a magnetic field induction force of 3.0 T. 46 patients with neurological disorders in the long-term postoperative period (more than 6 months) after radical mastectomy, chemotherapeutic and/or radiation treatment for breast cancer were examined.Results. According to the results of an intergroup statistical analysis, all 46 patients with post-mastectomy syndrome had differences in quantitative fractional anisotropy in the white matter tracts of the brain compared with the control group (p < 0.01).Conclusion. The use of DT-MRI in patients with post-mastectomy syndrome makes it possible to identify changes in the white matter tracts of the brain that correlate with neurological disorders and a decrease in the quality of life in this cohort of patients. The results obtained indicate the need to improve treatment and rehabilitation approaches in patients receiving treatment for breast cancer.

Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) as a Potential Biomarker of the Peripheral Nervous System Damage Following Breast Cancer Treatment

“…Therefore, it could be assumed that after breast cancer treatment, women do not have functional or structural changes in the brain. On the contrary, in the work of Bukkieva et al (2021), using functional MRI, the presence of changes in the structural connectome of the brain in patients who survived breast cancer was demonstrated [ 70 ]. Also, the absence of significant changes in the level of BDNF between groups of patients may indicate a long period that has passed since the PNS lesion.…”