Research Seems to Confirm 'Chemo Brain' Syndrome

"I can't concentrate." "My mind is foggy." "I can't remember things."

These are common complaints expressed by cancer survivors in support groups, online message boards and doctors' offices across the country.

Long known to cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy as "chemo brain" or "chemo fog," it is a condition of cognitive impairment that has only recently been confirmed by a handful of studies.

In a study published earlier this month, researchers in Toronto found that women who received chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer (after surgery had removed all known cancer) had decreased ability to remember, think and concentrate when compared to healthy women. The findings--published in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology--should not be viewed as a reason for withholding chemotherapy, a proven treatment that markedly improves cancer survival rates, said Dr. Ian F. Tannock of the University of Toronto, one of the study's investigators.

But patients and their doctors need to be aware of the side effects of chemotherapy, he added.

Most women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer receive chemotherapy as part of their treatment. In California, about 22,000 women were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 1996.

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Unlike chemotherapy's better-known side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, hair loss and changes in menstrual cycles, much less is known about cognitive difficulty because fewer studies have looked at the subject.

The Canadian study involved 31 breast cancer patients receiving standard-dose chemotherapy, 40 breast cancer patients who had undergone chemotherapy at least a year ago and 36 women who were cancer-free.

All 107 women underwent a battery of exams to test their neurological and psychological faculties: memory exercises, drawing shapes and figures, and performing simple tasks like naming words beginning with the letter "T."

The overall scores of women who were receiving chemotherapy were significantly poorer than those of healthy women. The differences could not be explained by age, education level, menstrual phase or mood disturbances--all factors known to influence cognitive ability.

Significantly more women from the two groups of breast cancer patients had moderate or severe cognitive impairment than the healthy women.

In addition, lingering cognitive problems were found up to a year after treatment, although the results were not statistically significant, the study found.