S. Laabidi (Ariana, Tunisia)
Hopital Abderrahmen Mami de Pneumo-PhistiologieAuthor Of 1 Presentation
141P - Cognitive impairment among breast cancer patients receiving endocrine treatment: a comparative study between aromatase inhibitors and tamoxifen
Abstract
Background
Estrogens are modulators of cognition in women. Previous data hypothesized that women receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) exhibited worse cognitive functioning since their estrogen levels are lower than patients on tamoxifen (TAM). The aim of our study was to compare cognitive complaints in both groups.
Methods
From September 2020 to January 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional study on breast cancer (BC) patients who have been receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) for at least 6 months. Cognitive complaints were assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Cognitive Function test (FACT-Cog) v.3.
Results
The study included 108 female patients: 60 receiving AIs and 48 receiving TAM. The mean age at diagnosis was 52 yo (44 yo in TAM group versus 58 yo in AIs patients, p< 0.001). The mean duration of ET was 29 months [6-66] and was equivalent between both groups p=0.6). 90% of the sample received chemotherapy before ET with no difference between both groups (p=0.7). Assessment of \"perceived cognitive impairment (PCI)-20 subscale\" did not identify a significant difference between the 2 samples (mean score for AI patients =16 versus 21 for TAM, p=0.198). Severe PCI scores (>=60) were noted in 4% of tam patients versus 1.6% of AIs patients (p=0.58). When exploring the concentration domain patients on tam scored significantly worse than AI patients (p<0.001) while for the verbal domain, memory, multitasking, speed, and functional interference domains, no significant difference between both groups was observed. On the “QoL subscale” (score/16), patients on TAM tended to be more affected in their daily life by their cognitive issues than patients on AIs (mean scores 4/16 versus 2/16, p=0.06). Finally, 10% of patients in each group expressed the need to get regular cognitive support/training during their follow-up visits.
Conclusions
Overall, despite age disparity, patients on AIs did not score worse than patients on TAM on the FACT-Cog test. Besides, patients on TAM exhibited significantly worse scores in the concentration domain. Finally, a subset of patients on ET should be identified to get cognitive rehabilitation therapy to improve their reintegration into social life and workplace.
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.