A systematic review 1 including 9 studies (1 uncontrolled longitudinal study and 8 cross-sectional studies) with a total of 720 women was abstracted in DARE. Included women were breast cancer survivors who had completed chemotherapy 6.5 to 10 years previously, women currently receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer, or control participants (women with breast cancer who had only received surgery or radiotherapy, or healthy women). Studies of breast cancer survivors found chemotherapy-induced impairments in multiple domains of cognitive function, but they are beset with conceptual and methodological problems. Findings regarding cognitive deficits in women with breast cancer who currently are receiving chemotherapy are even less clear. Differences in time since treatment, chemotherapy regimen, menopausal status, and neuropsychological tests used limit comparisons among the various studies.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study and review limitations and by inconsistency (heterogeneity in outcomes and variability of results across studies).
Primary/Secondary Keywords