Primary Assessment of the Phenomena of Chemo-Brain Among Iraqi Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background: Survival rates increased substantially with adjuvant chemotherapy. Cancer patients in remission suffers from cognitive impairments, memory loss, decrease in the level of concentration and decline in work performance. These symptoms known as chemobrain and been hypothesized due to the effect of chemotherapy on the proliferation of neural stem cells. This phenomenon has been studied in vitro and in vivo. In this survey our aim is to assess the cognitive decline in cancer patients post chemotherapy and highlight this among Iraqi cancer patients. Methods: Patients treated by chemotherapy in different centers in Iraq participated in this survey and the symptoms of chemobrain were assessed through a questionnaire. No identifiable information was collected from subjects to preserve confidentiality Results: 78 subjects completed the survey. 52.6% were female and 47.6% were male. Median age was 52.6, patient’s symptom analysis revealed that 62.8 have loss of concentration, 67.9% expressed memory loss, 64.1% feel poor work performance and 57.7% suffer from insomnia. Discussion and Conclusion: More than half of the sample assessed complain from the symptomatology of chemobrain. These symptoms are afflicting their daily life and task performance. Still no standard national or international guidelines are available for chemobrain. Further studies are warranted to assess the rates of this phenomena among survivors. Treating oncologists need to be full aware about these symptoms and patients need to be discussed and counseled during follow up visits.