Cancer investigation
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A subset of breast cancer survivors are reporting cognitive impairment after cancer treatment, which has commonly been attributed to the receipt of chemotherapy and colloquially termed "chemobrain." For some, a fear of this side effect enters into their decision regarding therapy. Our review of the literature reveals that so-called "chemobrain" is complex and that factors other than chemotherapy may affect cognitive function, including the impact of surgery and anesthesia, hormonal therapy, menopause, anxiety, depression, fatigue, supportive care medications, genetic predisposition, comorbid medical conditions, or possibly paraneoplastic phenomenon. ⋯ Large, multicenter studies are needed to better understand the magnitude and mechanism of cognitive changes in cancer survivors and to assess the impact of cognitive changes on the patient's daily lives. We propose that the phenomenon commonly referred to as "chemobrain" would be more accurately labeled "cancer- or cancer-therapy-associated cognitive change."
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Cancer investigation · Sep 2007
Case ReportsTemozolomide treatment of an adult with a relapsing medulloblastoma.
Temozolomide is an oral cytotoxic agent that has demonstrated its interest in high grade glioma tumors. This drug can be used either concomitantly with radiotherapy or as chemotherapy. ⋯ An initial partial response was observed for this previously heavily treated patient. This observation suggests this drug may be useful in medulloblastoma, either as conventional chemotherapy or for use together with radiotherapy.