The Effect of Chemotherapy on Cognition in Patients Treated for Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly reported following the administration of chemotherapy to cancer patients, with most confirmatory results obtained from the cohort of breast cancer patients. The aims of the present study were to assess whether CRCI is consistently observed in people treated for colorectal cancer, to assess the impact of different treatment regimens, and to identify the domains of cognition affected.This study comprised four sample groups, three of which had been diagnosed and treated for colorectal cancer; chemotherapy patients (n = 19), patients treated with chemotherapy and the anti-angiogenic drug Avastin TM (n = 12), and surgery only patients (n = 10). A fourth, comparably aged and educated healthy control group was also included (n = 20). Each participant undertook approximately 90 minutes of testing, comprising nine neuropsychological tests, including a measure of everyday problem solving and self-report measures of anxiety, fatigue, depression and cognition.Multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between the groups across the neuropsychological test total scores. However, a significant difference was found when those tests comprised of subscales were broken down into their components; comparison between the surgery and healthy control groups found a difference on the delayed recall component of the logical memory test, with the surgery group having performed more poorly. Significant relationships were found between years of education, premorbid ability and everyday problem solving ability and cognitive functioning. The current study identified no significant increase in cognitive impairment related to chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic drugs used to treat colorectal cancer.