BMC Women's Health (May 2020)

Preliminary study on the effects of treatment for breast cancer: immunological markers as they relate to quality of life and neuropsychological performance

  • Michael J. Boivin,
  • Geoffrey P. Aaron,
  • Nathan G. Felt,
  • Lance Shamoun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-020-00971-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 1
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Background Immunological biomarkers were related to quality of life and neuropsychological performance in women recently diagnosed with breast cancer through the first six months of treatment. A comparison group of breast cancer survivors in remission were also evaluated. Method Twenty women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and 26 breast cancer survivors at least a year after treatment were evaluated four times over a course of six to 8 months. The assessments included quality-of-life, emotional and spiritual well-being, sleep quality, computerized neuropsychological performance, and cytokine immunology biomarkers using flow cytometry. The principal immunological markers examined were the CD4+, CD8+, and CD16+ counts. Results Although equivalent at enrollment, active treatment women reported higher anxiety, depression, poorer quality-of-life, and poorer processing speed and accuracy on memory, logical processes, and coding neuropsychological tasks. They also had significantly higher CD8+ and CD16+ cell count levels during treatment over the next six to eight months than comparison group women in remission. Women undergoing chemotherapy as well during treatment phase also had a significant decline in CD4+ counts. Higher percent CD8+ levels during treatment was associated with poorer quality of life and more depression, while higher CD4+ and CD8+ were associated with poorer neuropsychological memory and processing speed performance. Conclusion Significant increases in CD8+ is a sensitive biomarker of a broad range of poorer quality-of-life and neurocognitive functioning outcomes during breast cancer treatment, especially in women undergoing chemotherapy. Quality of life should be monitored in breast cancer patients and psychosocial support made available as a standard of care.

Keywords