The study looked at 702 cancer survivors and their cancer-free twins. It found that all cancer survivors and those who had survived cancer for at lest 5 years were twice as likely as their cancer-free twins to have cognitive dysfunction.
Cancer survivors were also twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia, (but the researcher said this finding was not statisically significant?)
"Our data suggest that cancer and its treatments may lower survivors' cognitive reserve and thus increased their long term risk of cognitive dysfunction and dementia, a serious clinical concern for physicians treating cancer survivors," the study authors wrote.
They said more research is needed to determine which cancer treatments are the most neurotoxic, how & which cognitive and behavioral domains are most affected, and the risk factors for this neurotoxicity.
I debated on whether or not to make this posting, since one of the spouses is a cancer survivor. But in my case, with small cell lung cancer (spouse) there is no doubt that his treatment can lead to dementia. I have read more than enough on that in the past few days. Sad. For others the case may not be the same.
Sorry for my typos, I have to type with my cat sitting in front of my monitor. She loves to watch things moving. So I just type & hope it is o.k.
The point of this posting is that I think one question the professionals need to ask is, has your spouce had cancer/cancer treatments.
The question is, who is REALLY doing the typing. Surely your cat likes to help, not just watch. :-)
If the report says that the results are not statistically significant, then one can NOT draw the conclusion that cancer survivors are more likely to develop cancer. "Twice as likely" can mean that for cancer-free people had a 0.005% chance of developing cognitive dysfunction, while the cancer-survivors had a 0.010% chance. Something like this would be very unlikely to be "real." In other words, the results indicate there MAY be a possible trend, but it would have to be confirmed by a much larger study.
This is similar to what we were talking about earlier, re "anecdotal evidence." There may appear to be a correlation, based on preliminary assessments, but then later, studies to determine if there actually IS one find that there is not.
As the authors noted, a lot more study is needed before anyone should get seriously upset by this finding.
Also, they did really propose a mechanism whereby cancer itself or any treatment might have an impact on cognitive function later on in life. It would be a "serious concern" if someone came up with a cancer treatment that had a clear path to cognitive dysfunction -- that could affect the decisions made as to whether/how to treat cancer.
Those who died from cancer may not have been checked for AD (or there may be a time frame) - so naturally the survivors would show more AD than those who didn't. :)
Mary, the study was done by comparing the rates at which cancer survivors develop AD, compared to healthy people matched by age, gender, general overall health, etc.
bluedaze, My cat is a Katrina survivor. A vet went down to Missippi & gathered all the cats & dogs after hurricane Katrina. I heard a radio ad & immediately went over by impulse, called my husband to come, & we fell in love with her. I named her Katrina. Turns out she is a solid white Maine Coon cat, (they have personalities similar to dogs) & is so snuggly. She was only 6 months old at the time. Little did I know that white cats shed more than any cats & she is LONG haired. She has gotten me through many a hard night. I love her. She thinks she is a princess.
Val-I have always had Maine Coons-yes they are the greatest, sweetest, friendliest guys in the world. Much as I'd like another i can't let shelter cats be killed so that is where I will go. To answer your question I had breast cancer at a young age-very scarey. Both mother and father's sides all have died of breast cancer. Some of my cousins now have daughters with breast cancer. I have two daughters to worry about. Thanks for asking bluedaze
Maine Coons are the best!!! So your 2 reds are Maine Coon cats? They are the snugliest, most affectionate cats on the planet. Little did I know that they cost $900. She is so intelligent. She knows her name, etc. My other cats were nothing like this.
Katrina's all white - is she deaf? I've had all-white deaf cats all my life until quite recently. I've also had Siamese (now rescue) for the last 50+ years. I wonder how many of us have cats. My husband adores our young Chimi.
Oh no, she is NOT deaf, she could hear a leaf drop. She hears EVERYTHING. She could be dead asleep, hears the back door open & sits there wanting to go outside. She's a big girl, but young. I have been told she won't reach her total weight until she is 4 years old.
bluedaze - 26 lbs! Must have been a male.
Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore your comments about breast cancer. I have been in a "state" tonight after the conversation w/ my husband regarding divorce. Yes, your daughters need to give a lot of attention to that.
Our daughter has a tiger-colored Maine Coon Cat who weighs about 28 pounds (since being put on a diet). He sheds all over everything. One problem we have is that my wife is very allergic to cats, so we have trouble visiting our daughter - have to load DW up with antihistamines, inhalers, etc.
I haven't seen any of the articles regarding cancer treatment and dementia. I hope it is not real since our son-in-law went through major chemo and radiation for throat cancer about 6 years ago. Also, his mother died of Alzheimer's. Now our daughter is faced with her mother having AD after taking care of her M-I-L with AD.
Ditto with my son. He has to take all sorts of meds to visit. I knew it when I got the cat, but I was starved for affection. Maybe it's best that you don't know. My head has been spinning since I found out. Just google & you will find out anything you care to know. Sorry for your situation. You have it all around you. You had best get your daughter prepared. No one out there is going to protect her. I have been living in the dark prior to finding this site. Like you, I had no idea. Doctors are so specialized, as you know, and it seems these days you have to google to get to the bottom of it all. My thoughts are with you.
marsh, there is a reasonable amount of evidence that brain radiation therapy to treat or prevent cancer may result in impaired cognitive function.
As for any other type of cancer therapy being associated with AD, there has been one study that tentatively identified a trend, but the study methods were flawed. More recent research, using twins (one of whom developed cancer and the other did not) and more sophisticated neuropsych evaluations, indicated there was a slightly LOWER chance of developing AD after cancer therapy.
The only other thing that I've seen in this area that is being studied, and is open to concern, is tamoxifen. Patients who had chemotherapy and tamoxifen had worse brain function five to six years later than those who had no chemotherapy or chemotherapy only. There was no tamoxifen-therapy-only group in this study. However, the Women's health Initiative study comparing estrogen and progesterone or estrogen alone to placebo demonstrated a decline in cognitive function. Tamoxifen is a mixed estrogen and anti-estrogen drug, and therefore could possibly have estrogen-like effects on the brain similar to those seen in the Women's Health Initiative.
Granted, I did not do an exhaustive search. However, the mere fact that nothing popped up right away indicates that either no one has asked whether chemo could end up in dementia, or that the studies that examined this question didn't find much support for the hypothesis. Almost everything I found was on whole-brain irradiation.
While poking around on this subject, Val, I tripped across a short article that you might find interesting.
I did indeed find it interesting. I printed it & put in the papers for my husband to read & took away the article that had the prognosis for small cell lung cancer away. I don't think he could deal with all that information. Too depressing. I am saving all these printed copies of articles you all have sent to me to refer to in case my divorce lawyer questions me. How could he know? I didn't even know.
I'm not sure if he had "whole brain" radiation. Other studies conclude it is the combination of the radiation and the toxidity of cisplatin a chemo drug that is used for small cell lung cancer.
That's my understanding. They do pinpoint irradiation (gamma knife, that sort of thing) to kill tumors, specifically, in the brain. The whole-brain irradiation is to treat the entire brain, to get any cells that might have spread to the brain from cancer elsewhere.
Oh no. I am just amazed. Why the radiologist told me nothing about this, I have no idea. I had to come to an Alzheimer's spouse message board to find out all about this. I would really have appreciated being forewarned. She had to have known. Or? Regretfully, we all have to do our research on the internet. What about the oncologist? Did he know? etc. What's this all about? Someday she'll wake up & see her husband is not functioning mentally, but let's not tell her.
ttt with with other thread that was mentioned in relation to Kitty's situation.
My DH was treated for lymphoma with both chemo and radiation in 2002 and within two years I began seeing significant short term memory difficulties. Thought at first he just wasn't paying attention, then read about "chemo brain" and thought that was it. Within the next two years things got steadily worse, some "flattening" of his personality, and I thought it might be a brain tumor. When that was ruled out with a CT scan, I had to begin dealing with the diagnosis and acceptance of MCI. Soon after that I saw other signs pointing to AD.
The signs of spring are calling me to take a trip to Charleston. Don't you miss SC just a bit?
Susanhere....I adore Charleston. Such a genteel city. Love the fine restaurants, the architecture, history and churches. I left my heart in S.C., - and so many close friends. Too late, I learned that the reason we moved away is because DH was sensing his problems and thought living on a beach in a warmer climate would make him "better". That was about 7 years ago, and everyone thinks that's when his illness began. If only I had known then what I know now. How sad that when Alzheimer's Disease begins, they don't get red spots on their tummies.
My DW's Situation is similar to your DH's. She has had chemo for Lymphoma twice and radiation treatment to the brain area behind her ear. Her last flareup of Lymphoma was about 2001, the enlarged lymph node appeared in her neck and was very fast growing, they surgically removed what they could get of the lymph node. It was wrapped around the nerve bundle in her neck right below the ear. They gave her Rutuxin Chemotherapy treatments and after chemotherapy was completed, she had to take eighteen radiation treatments on the back of her neck at the base of her skull.
I have often wondered if these radiation treatments affected her brain, her early AD sympyhoms appeared about two years after the treatments. She has VaD/AD, the treatments may not be related to her condition as her impairment appears to be caused by TIA's and strokes.
Marsh, do you have any additional comments or thoughts on the possible connection of chemotheraphy and radiation with VaD/AD?
OK, there is something weird going on with this board. I definitely entered a "ttt" post to bring this up for Nancy, I saw it entered and accepted, now it's gone. (susanhere, thanks for bringing the thread up for me.)
The other day, I had entered a post, that went OK, went back to edit it and it disappeared.