Chemotherapy could cause brain damage in breast cancer patients scientists have warned.
A groundbreaking study discovered that breast cancer patients who had undergone the treatment - which uses medicine to kill cancerous cells - had significantly less activity in parts of the brain responsible for memory and planning compared to those who were not treated.
Researchers from Stanford University believe the findings could explain the phenomenon "chemo brain" - a term used to describe foggy thinking and memory lapses following chemotherapy sessions.
The study involved 25 breast cancer patients who had been treated with chemotherapy, 19 breast cancer patients who had surgery and other treatments, and 18 healthy women.
All were asked to perform a card-sorting task, involving problem-solving skills while their brain activity was monitored through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Each participant was also asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their own cognitive abilities.
The 25 patients who had been treated with chemotherapy, made more errors on the task and the scans revealed reduced activity in parts of the brain responsible for working memory, cognitive control, monitoring and planning.
Lead author Shelli Kesler said: "This shows that when a patient reports she's struggling with these types of problems, there's a good chance there has been a brain change."
The study, published in the Archives of Neurology supports previous findings, and cancer patients have long complained of neurological side effects such as short-term memory loss and, in extreme cases, vision loss, and even dementia following chemotherapy.




据英国《每日邮报》11月15日报道，科学家们警告，化疗可能会引起乳腺癌患者大脑损伤。

一项突破性的研究发现，和未曾使用药物治疗的乳腺癌患者相比，那些使用过此疗法的癌患大脑中记忆和规划的脑部活动水平明显降低。


来自美国斯坦福大学的研究人员认为这一发现能够解释"化疗脑"现象。"化疗脑"是指病人在接受化疗之后出现的思维不清和记忆衰退症状。

该研究的参与对象包括25名曾接受过化疗的乳腺癌患者、19名接受过外科手术或其他疗法的乳腺癌患者，以及18名健康女性。

所有的参与者被要求完成一项涉及到问题解决技能的卡片分类任务，在完成任务的同时，研究人员通过磁共振成象来监测他们的大脑活动。

每位参与者还被要求完成一份评估自我认知能力的调查问卷。

研究结果显示出曾经有过化疗史的那25位癌患在完成任务时的出错更频繁。扫描结果也显示出他们大脑中负责工作记忆、认知控制、检查以及规划的脑部活动水平降低。

研究论文的主要作者雪莉-凯斯勒说："该研究结果显示，当病人报告说正挣扎在这些类型的问题时，她的大脑很有可能已经出现了变化。"

发表在《神经学文献上》的这一研究，支持了先前的研究发现。化疗会对癌患的神经系统造成一些副作用，如短暂失忆，极个别情况下会出现视力下降，甚至痴呆。

• cancer [´kænsə] n.癌；毒瘤 (初中英语单词)
• treatment [´tri:tmənt] n.待遇；对待；治疗 (初中英语单词)
• responsible [ri´spɔnsəbəl] a.尽责的；责任重大的 (初中英语单词)
• healthy [´helθi] a.健康的 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• previous [´pri:viəs] a.先，前，以前的 (初中英语单词)
• extreme [ik´stri:m] a.尽头的 n.极端 (初中英语单词)
• vision [´viʒən] n.视觉；想象力；幻影 (初中英语单词)
• phenomenon [fi´nɔminən] n.现象；奇迹；珍品 (高中英语单词)
• surgery [´sə:dʒəri] n.外科；外科手术 (英语四级单词)
• magnetic [mæg´netik] a.磁(性)的 (英语四级单词)
• undergone [,ʌndə´gɔn] undergo的过去分词 (英语六级单词)