Verbal fluency in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline caused by chemotherapy used in the treatment of malignant diseases was reported in several studies. ICCTF recommends the diagnosis of cognitive function in patient treated with chemotherapy. One of the suggested method is Verbal Fluency Test (VFT). METHODS: Study was carried out on a group of 30 women with early breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and 29 healthy controls. The patients underwent neuropsychological assessment using VFT at three time points: T1: before chemotherapy, T2: mid-chemotherapy and T3: post-chemotherapy. The examination in healthy controls was conducted at the same time intervals. RESULTS: In phonetic fluency task patients produced more words at T2 compared to T1 (Z = 2.02; p < 0.05) and at T3 compared to T1, both patients (Z = 2.36; p < 0.05) and controls (Z = 2.57; p < 0.01). The patients scored lower than controls (Z = −2.04; p < 0.05) as well as on average cluster size in the same task (Z = −2.38; p < 0.05) at T3, while they scored higher on the number of phonetic switches at T2 compared to T1 (Z = 2.62; p < 0.01) and at T3 compared to T1 (Z = 2.50; p < 0.01). In semantic task controls produced more words at T3 than at T1 (Z = 2.62; p < 0.01) and at T3 compared to T2 (Z = 2.89; p < 0.01) and semantic clusters at T3 compared to T2 (Z = 2.43; p < 0.05). In patients, number of clusters was smaller at T3 compared to T2 (Z = −2.85; p < 0.05), while number of semantic switches was higher at T3 than at T2 (Z = 3.05; p < 0.01). Patients scored also lower than controls on number of semantic switches at T2 (Z = −2.05; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy does not decrease verbal fluency, but it has a negative impact on semantic memory.