Evaluating the Relationship between Objective and Perceived Cognitive Impairment Induced by Adjuvant Chemotherapy among Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract

A wide-range of breast cancer survivors (BCS) report cognitive-related concerns (e.g., changes in memory) after receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, a standardized treatment protocol for breast cancer. With adjuvant chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment linked to psychological distress and reduced quality of life among BCS, it is imperative that researchers and clinicians evaluate and address this phenomenon. However, researchers and clinicians alike have encountered difficulty in evaluating cognitive impairment among BCS due to the discrepancy found between objective cognitive impairment (OCI), characterized by neuropsychological testing, and perceived cognitive impairment (PCI), characterized by self –report, in the literature. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between OCI and PCI, including a HC comparison group, CR, and examining whether MC, mood, and SoP explained the discrepancy between OCI and PCI. Twenty-seven BCS, 25 collateral reporters, and 32 healthy controls were recruited. A mixed- method approach was used. T-test and ordinary least squares regressions were conducted to compare group differences and examine the predictive value of PCI, SoP, mood, and MC, respectively. Thematic analysis was used to understand BCS’s current cognitive experience. Although BCS reported more cognitive complaints than HC, our findings indicate that there is little difference between BCS and HCs on any dimension of cognitive function, including discordance in the OCI-PCI relationship, but that for BCS mood played key role in perceptions of cognitive functioning.