Small Brent J, Scott Stacey B, Jim Heather S L, Jacobsen Paul B
University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla., USA.
Gerontology. 2015;61(6):561-6. doi: 10.1159/000381022. Epub 2015 Apr 1.
With advances in screening and early detection, coupled with improved treatment and care, the number of cancer survivors has risen exponentially over the past several decades. Moreover, because age is the most significant risk factor for cancer, the majority of cancer survivors are over 65 years of age. Finally, cancer survivors often experience significant health issues for many years after the treatment has subsided. In the current article, we describe select research that has focused on changes to cognitive performance associated with cancer and its treatment, i.e., alterations that have been colloquially referred to as chemobrain. Although understanding changes in cognitive performance following cancer treatment is an active area of inquiry, the experience of older adult cancer survivors has been somewhat neglected. For example, evidence is mixed as to whether changes in cognitive performance associated with normal aging are exacerbated by cancer survivorship status. It is also unclear whether a history of cancer makes it more or less likely that a person will be diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease in the future. Finally, we identify a number of areas where existing cognitive aging research can inform studies on cognitive performance following cancer treatment. Future efforts should be directed towards designing studies that focus on the experience of older adult cancer survivors and are informed by the clinical oncology and cognitive aging literature.
随着筛查和早期检测技术的进步，再加上治疗和护理水平的提高，在过去几十年中，癌症幸存者的数量呈指数级增长。此外，由于年龄是癌症最重要的风险因素，大多数癌症幸存者年龄超过65岁。最后，癌症幸存者在治疗结束后的许多年里往往会经历严重的健康问题。在当前这篇文章中，我们描述了一些专注于癌症及其治疗相关认知表现变化的研究，即通俗所说的化疗脑。尽管了解癌症治疗后的认知表现变化是一个活跃的研究领域，但老年癌症幸存者的经历在一定程度上被忽视了。例如，关于与正常衰老相关的认知表现变化是否会因癌症幸存者身份而加剧，证据并不一致。同样不清楚癌症病史是否会增加或降低一个人未来被诊断患有痴呆症或阿尔茨海默病的可能性。最后，我们确定了一些现有认知衰老研究可为癌症治疗后认知表现研究提供信息的领域。未来的工作应致力于设计专注于老年癌症幸存者经历且以临床肿瘤学和认知衰老文献为依据的研究。
