Impact of taxane-based chemotherapy among older women with breast cancer on cognition and quality of life: a longitudinal pooled analysis

Brent J Small; Marie Lange; Wanting Zhai; Jaeil Ahn; Tim A Ahles; Judith E Carroll; Harvey J Cohen; Deena Graham; Martine Extermann; Natacha Heutte; Heather S L Jim; Brenna C McDonald; Sunita K Patel; James C Root; Andrew J Saykin; Kathleen Van Dyk; Xingtao Zhou; Jeanne Mandelblatt; Florence Joly; Thinking Living with Cancer C. O. G.-Age Studies

doi:10.1007/s10549-021-06455-6

Impact of taxane-based chemotherapy among older women with breast cancer on cognition and quality of life: a longitudinal pooled analysis

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2022 Jan;191(2):459-469. doi: 10.1007/s10549-021-06455-6. Epub 2021 Nov 24.

Authors

Brent J Small^#¹, Marie Lange^#², Wanting Zhai³, Jaeil Ahn³, Tim A Ahles⁴, Judith E Carroll⁵, Harvey J Cohen⁶, Deena Graham⁷, Martine Extermann⁸, Natacha Heutte⁹, Heather S L Jim¹⁰, Brenna C McDonald¹¹, Sunita K Patel¹², James C Root⁴, Andrew J Saykin¹¹, Kathleen Van Dyk¹³, Xingtao Zhou³, Jeanne Mandelblatt^#¹⁴, Florence Joly^#²; Thinking Living with Cancer C. O. G.-Age Studies

Affiliations

¹ School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA. bsmall@usf.edu.
² Medical Oncology Department, Centre François Baclesse, and Normandie University, UNICAEN, INSERM, ANTICIPE, and Cancer and Cognition Platform, Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Caen, France.
³ Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics, Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁶ Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
⁷ John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack, NJ, USA.
⁸ Department of Oncology Sciences, Senior Adult Oncology Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
⁹ Department of Clinical Research, Center François Baclesse, and Normandie Université, Caen, France.
¹⁰ Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
¹¹ Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine and the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
¹² Departments of Population Sciences and Supportive Care Medicine, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences David Geffen School of Medicine, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, Semel Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Oncology, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: Older cancer patients are susceptible to long-term effects of chemotherapy, including cancer-related cognitive decline and impairments to quality of life. Taxane-based chemotherapies are associated with physical declines among older women and may negatively impact cognitive performance. We sought to examine whether changes in objective and subjective measures of cognitive performance and well-being differ among older breast cancer survivors as a function of taxane-based chemotherapy treatment regimens.

Methods: Individual-level data were pooled and harmonized from two large prospective studies of older (greater than 60 years) breast cancer survivors. Assessments were conducted prior to systemic therapy and up to 36 months after. Cognitive performance was assessed with objective (working memory, processing speed, and executive functions) and subjective tests and physical, emotional, and functional well-being were also assessed.

Results: One hundred and sixty-seven (M age = 67.3 years) women with 116 receiving chemotherapy with taxanes and 51 without taxanes contributed data. Declines in subjective cognition for both groups were significant between pre-treatment and 12-month follow-up. Significant improvements were seen on a measure of objective cognition (working memory) from 12 to 36 months. Measures of well-being improved from prior to systemic therapy to 12 months. Longitudinal changes across all measures did not vary as a function of receipt of taxane-based treatment.

Conclusion: Older women who received treatment with taxanes did not have greater declines in cognitive performance or well-being than women receiving other chemotherapy regimens. Despite older cancer survivors being at greater risk for negative outcomes, treatment with taxane-based chemotherapies does not appear to exacerbate these health consequences.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Chemotherapy; Cognition; Longitudinal changes; Taxanes.

MeSH terms

Aged
Breast Neoplasms* / complications
Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Breast Neoplasms* / epidemiology
Bridged-Ring Compounds
Cognition
Female
Humans
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life
Taxoids / adverse effects

Substances

Bridged-Ring Compounds
Taxoids
taxane

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

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