Adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: effects on cerebral white matter seen in diffusion tensor imaging.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on normal-appearing white matter in women with breast cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Ten patients with early-stage breast cancer who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and 9 age-, education-, and IQ-matched healthy controls were studied with magnetic resonance imaging. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to calculate fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter integrity. Measurements were made in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum. Participants also completed measures of processing speed, depression, and anxiety.

RESULTS

Relative to controls, patients had slower processing speed and lower FA in the genu. Processing speed was positively correlated with FA in the genu.

CONCLUSION

The results of this pilot study suggest that adjuvant chemotherapy affects normal-appearing white matter in the genu of the corpus callosum and that this is related to the cognitive deficits experienced by patients.