Many patients receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer experience what is known as ‘chemo brain’, which is impaired cognitive function. Now a study conducted by members of the University of Washington (USA) has found that high levels of physical exercise could maintain cognitive function in patients treated with chemotherapy to combat this type of cancer.
The research, which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has analyzed data obtained from 580 patients with breast cancer and 363 without cancer, based on their physical activity and cognitive function. It was found that 33% of the participants with tumors met the physical activity guidelines – at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week – at the start of the study, while 40% of the healthy participants met these guidelines.
Patients treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer who met exercise levels had cognitive performance similar to that of healthy people
That percentage dropped to 21% during chemotherapy administration and rose to 37% six months after treatment was terminated. “Some cancer patients experience memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, or trouble finding the right word to end a sentence. Our findings suggest that maintaining higher levels of physical activity may be important in protecting cognition in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy”, reveals Elizabeth A. Salerno, lead author of the study.
Cognitive performance similar to that of healthy participants
Breast cancer patients who met physical activity recommendations before chemotherapy ended up performing similarly to active and inactive healthy individuals on tests of memory and attention. The researchers speculate that self-reported measures of cognition could include chemotherapy-related problems such as anxiety, fatigue or depression.
The researchers have emphasized that their study is observational and that it cannot be shown that physical exercise definitively protects against chemotherapy-related cognitive decline, as they believe that it could be possible that physically active people also have other protective characteristics in addition to of exercise practice.
However, as Salerno concludes: “Physical activity is a complex behavior. So it will be important to see if we can intervene with physical activity during a specific time window, such as during chemotherapy, and protect cognitive function in patients of all activity levels.”
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