Findings observed in early-stage breast cancer survivors followed for up to six years after treatment
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For early-stage breast cancer survivors, endocrine therapy (ET) appears to have no effect on neuropsychological performance or impairment over six years of follow-up, according to a study published online Nov. 28 in Cancer.
Kathleen Van Dyk, Ph.D., from the University of California at Los Angeles, and colleagues examined the neuropsychological effects of ET up to six years after treatment among 189 survivors of early-stage breast cancer. Patients were followed with self-report and neuropsychological assessments at six months (175 patients), at 12 months (173 patients), and for three to six years (102 patients).
The researchers found that compared with women who did not receive ET, those who received it had no neuropsychological performance deficits or impairment at any time point. Better executive function was seen at baseline for those who participated in the three-year to six-year visit.
“This provides some reassurance to the many thousands of women receiving these medications who may be concerned about cognitive effects,” the authors write. “Given the broad and complex effects of estrogen function in the brain, intensive study of the risk ET poses to brain health remains a priority.”
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