Zhou Wensu, Tian Weizhong, Xia Jianguo, Li Yuan, Li Xiaolu, Yao Tianyi, Bi Jingcheng, Zhu Zhengcai
Graduate School of Dalian Medical University, 116044, Dalian, China.
Department of Radiology, Taizhou People's Hospital, 225300, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2022 Oct;16(5):2248-2257. doi: 10.1007/s11682-022-00695-w. Epub 2022 Jun 10.
The goal of this study was to determine the presence or absence of persistent functional impairments in specific brain regions in breast cancer patients during the recovery period after chemotherapy. We calculated degree centrality (DC) and explored the correlation between brain changes and cognitive scores in 29 female patients with breast cancer who had completed chemotherapy within 1-6 years (C + group) and in 28 age-matched patients with breast cancer who did not receive chemotherapy (C- group). All patients underwent rs-fMRI and cognitive testing. Differences in brain functional activity were explored using DC parameters. Correlations between brain features and cognitive scores were analyzed via correlation analysis. Compared with the C- group, the C + group obtained significantly lower motor and cognitive subscores on the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions and four subscale scores of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the C + group exhibited a significantly higher DC z-score (zDC) in the right superior temporal gyrus and left postcentral gyrus (P < 0.01, FWE-corrected), and a lower zDC in the left caudate nucleus (P < 0.01, FWE-corrected). We found a positive correlation between digit symbol test (DST) scores and zDC values in the right superior temporal gyrus (r = 0.709, P < 0.001), and a negative correlation between DST scores and zDC values in the right angular gyrus (r = -0.784, P < 0.001) and left superior parietal gyrus (r = -0.739, P < 0.001). Chemotherapy can cause abnormal brain activity and cognitive decline in patients with breast cancer, and these effects are likely to persist. DC can be used as an imaging marker for chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment after chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
本研究的目的是确定乳腺癌患者化疗后恢复期特定脑区是否存在持续性功能损害。我们计算了度中心性（DC），并探讨了29例在1 - 6年内完成化疗的女性乳腺癌患者（C +组）和28例年龄匹配的未接受化疗的乳腺癌患者（C -组）的脑变化与认知评分之间的相关性。所有患者均接受静息态功能磁共振成像（rs - fMRI）和认知测试。使用DC参数探索脑功能活动的差异。通过相关性分析分析脑特征与认知评分之间的相关性。与C -组相比，C +组在运动和认知功能疲劳量表上的运动和认知子评分以及癌症治疗功能评估 - 认知功能的四个子量表评分显著更低（P < 0.05）。此外，C +组在右侧颞上回和左侧中央后回表现出显著更高的DC z分数（zDC）（P < 0.01，FWE校正），而在左侧尾状核表现出更低的zDC（P < 0.01，FWE校正）。我们发现数字符号测试（DST）评分与右侧颞上回的zDC值呈正相关（r = 0.709，P < 0.001），与右侧角回的zDC值呈负相关（r = - 0.784，P < 0.001）以及与左侧顶上回的zDC值呈负相关（r = - 0.739，P < 0.001）。化疗可导致乳腺癌患者脑活动异常和认知功能下降，且这些影响可能会持续存在。DC可作为乳腺癌患者化疗后化疗相关认知障碍的影像学标志物。
