Effects of Specific Neuropsychological Training Programs for Breast Cancer Patients After Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Abstract

Neuropsychological deficits are among the negative side effects of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. We compared the effects of two types of neuropsychological interventions against a control group with no specific training in a total of 96 female in-patients undergoing oncological rehabilitation. Most results of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery improved significantly during the patients' oncological rehabilitation in all three groups; we identified no specific intervention effects. We observed little overall correlation between the neuropsychological test results and the patients' own appraisals of their mental capacity. Clinically relevant neuropsychological deficits were still evident 6 months later in a small subgroup of patients.

Cognitive Intervention for Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Chemotherapy

“…The results are mixed, with one study reporting improvements in cognitive function as measured by neuropsychological tests, 16 and another reporting minimal evidence for improvement. 17 The mixed results may be due to differences in the rigor of the study design, control groups and sample sizes. Despite the mixed findings, these studies have not adequately evaluated the effects of their intervention on quality of life outcomes among cancer patients.…”

The effect of hypnotherapy on the quality of life in women with breast cancer

“…Some of the strategies that have demonstrated effectiveness in improving cognitive alterations related to chemotherapy include cognitive training (King & Green, 2015) and neuropsychological rehabilitation (Poppelreuter, Weis, & Bartsch, 2009). However, our study provides the first evidence that hypnotherapy has a positive effect on self-reported cognitive functioning, which suggests that hypnotherapy can be a useful tool in avoiding cognitive decline in patients with cancer.…”

Psychosoziale Folgen bei Langzeitüberlebenden einer Krebserkrankung

“…Bisher liegen nur wenige prospektiv, kontrollierte Interventionsstudien vor, sodass die Effekte unterschiedlicher Strategien von Hirnleistungstraining derzeit noch nicht abschließend bewertet werden können [35,36]. Aufgrund der Befunde zum möglichen Einfluss psychosozialer Belastungsfaktoren auf das Erleben kognitiver Leistungseinschränkungen erscheint es sinnvoll, diese spezifischen Funktionseinschränkungen im Gesamtkontext der psychosozialen Belastungen von Langzeitüberlebenden zu betrachten.…”