Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Blk S4, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
Support Care Cancer. 2012 Jul;20(7):1361-75. doi: 10.1007/s00520-012-1445-4. Epub 2012 Apr 5.
The choice of appropriate neuropsychological tests is important in evaluating the onset, severity, duration, and site of cognitive changes in postchemotherapy breast cancer survivors. This literature review is designed to evaluate and provide a summary of suitable neuropsychological tests to determine cognitive changes in breast cancer survivors.
A literature search restricted to publications in English before June 2011 was performed using the following combination of keywords: "neuropsychological assessments," "breast cancer," "chemotherapy," and "cognitive impairment." Only observational studies that performed cognitive assessments on breast cancer survivors were included. The neuropsychological assessments were grouped as "objective" (traditional batteries and screening tests), "subjective," or "computerized."
Of the 43 studies extracted, memory (88 %) and attention/concentration (88 %) are the two most commonly assessed domains. A majority (63 %) employed the use of Wechsler Adult Intelligent Scale (an objective test), while only 49 % incorporated subjective assessments to assess perceived cognitive impairment. Computerized tests received low popularity (28 %) despite their numerous advantages, which include overcoming the language- and cultural-dependent limitations of traditional objective tests.
In the selection of a suitable neuropsychological tool to determine the onset, severity, site, and duration of cognitive changes in breast cancer survivors, incorporation of both subjective and objective tests is essential to facilitate a comprehensive assessment. With more validation work performed in future studies, it may be feasible to employ computerized neuropsychological assessments in both clinical and research settings.
选择适当的神经心理学测试对于评估化疗后乳腺癌幸存者认知变化的发生、严重程度、持续时间和部位非常重要。本文献复习旨在评估并总结适合于确定乳腺癌幸存者认知变化的神经心理学测试。
采用“神经心理学评估”、“乳腺癌”、“化疗”和“认知障碍”等关键词，对 2011 年 6 月前发表的英文文献进行了限制检索。仅纳入对乳腺癌幸存者进行认知评估的观察性研究。神经心理学评估分为“客观”（传统成套测验和筛查测验）、“主观”或“计算机化”。
从 43 项研究中提取的结果显示，记忆力（88%）和注意力/集中力（88%）是最常评估的两个领域。大多数（63%）使用了韦氏成人智力量表（一种客观测试），而只有 49%的研究纳入了主观评估来评估认知障碍的感知。尽管计算机化测试具有许多优点，包括克服传统客观测试的语言和文化依赖性限制，但它们的受欢迎程度较低（28%）。
在选择合适的神经心理学工具来确定乳腺癌幸存者认知变化的发生、严重程度、部位和持续时间时，纳入主观和客观测试对于进行全面评估至关重要。随着未来研究中进行更多的验证工作，在临床和研究环境中使用计算机化神经心理学评估可能成为可行的。
