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Subjective cognition and mood in persistent chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment

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Abstract

Purpose

Persistent chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly reported following cancer treatment and negatively affects quality of life. While past research has focused on potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this relationship, the role of psychological factors, such as mood, stress, and anxiety, in the development of persistent CRCI has received less attention. As an additional analysis of data from a trial investigating the effects of transdermal nicotine patches on cognitive performance in patients with persistent CRCI, we examined whether change in mood was associated with changes in subjective and objective cognitive functioning.

Methods

Participants were randomized to either placebo (n = 11) or transdermal nicotine (n = 11) for 6 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of treatment withdrawal for a total of 8 weeks. Participants were assessed using behavioral, subjective, and objective measures of cognitive functioning and mood at five visits before, during, and after treatment.

Results

Although we did not detect an effect of treatment assignment on mood, over the course of the study, we observed a significant improvement on measures of mood that correlated with improvement in subjective and objective cognitive performance.

Conclusions

We observed improvement in objective and subjective cognitive performance measures. These changes were associated with improvement in subsyndromal mood symptoms, likely resulting from participation in the trial itself.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

These results suggest that women with persistent CRCI may benefit from support and validation of their cognitive complaints, cognitive rehabilitation/therapies into their post-cancer care.

Trial Registration

The study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov (trial registration: NCT02312943).

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our research volunteers for their dedication to clinical research. Preparation of this work was supported by 1 R01 AG047992-01A1 to PN, Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) CTSA Grant (UL1TR000445) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to JNV, K24 MH110598 to WDT, and T32-AG058524 (JNV)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Cognitive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1601 23rd Ave. South, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA

    Jennifer N. Vega, Kimberly M. Albert, Warren D. Taylor & Paul A. Newhouse

  2. Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center/Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Ingrid A. Mayer

  3. Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Health System, Nashville, TN, USA

    Warren D. Taylor & Paul A. Newhouse

Authors
  1. Jennifer N. Vega
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer N. Vega.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. This study was approved by the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC BRE 1692) and the Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Boards (IRB 141584).

Informed consent

All participants gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Conflict of interest

JN Vega, KM Albert, and WD Taylor declare no conflict of interest. Paul A. Newhouse has received research funding from NIH, Novartis, and Eisai. IA Mayer receives institutional research funding from Novartis, Genentech, Pfizer, and receives Advisory Board compensation from Novartis, Genentech, Lilly, Astra-Zeneca, GSK, Immunomedics, Macrogenics, Seattle-Genetics.

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Vega, J.N., Albert, K.M., Mayer, I.A. et al. Subjective cognition and mood in persistent chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment. J Cancer Surviv 16, 614–623 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01055-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01055-1

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