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01-01-2017 | Original Article

Relationships among psychoneurological symptoms and levels of C-reactive protein over 2 years in women with early-stage breast cancer

Authors: Angela Starkweather, Debra Lynch Kelly, Leroy Thacker, Michelle L. Wright, Colleen K. Jackson-Cook, Debra E. Lyon

Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer | Issue 1/2017

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to explore clusters of psychoneurological symptoms and inflammation (levels of C-reactive protein) over time in a cohort of women with early-stage breast cancer. Specifically, we examined the relationships among affective symptoms (depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbances, pain, and perceived stress), domains of cognitive performance, and levels of peripheral C-reactive over a period of 2 years.

Methods

This was a prospective, longitudinal study of 77 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Data collection, including symptom questionnaires, performance-based cognitive testing, and blood draws, took place at 5 time points: prior to initiating adjuvant chemotherapy, prior to the fourth chemotherapy treatment, and at 6, 12, and 24 months after the initiation of chemotherapy.

Results

Exploratory factor analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation was used to examine the covariance among symptoms at each visit. Using the factor scores and weighted sums, three clusters were identified: global cognition, affective symptoms, and cognitive efficiency. Peripheral levels of C-reactive protein were inversely correlated with the cognitive efficiency factor across time.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that objectively measured domains of cognitive function occur independently of other affective symptoms that are commonly reported by women with breast cancer in long-term survivorship. The cognitive efficiency symptom cluster may be amenable to interventions targeted to biological influences that reduce levels of C-reactive protein.

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Title: Relationships among psychoneurological symptoms and levels of C-reactive protein over 2 years in women with early-stage breast cancer
Authors: Angela Starkweather
Debra Lynch Kelly
Leroy Thacker
Michelle L. Wright
Colleen K. Jackson-Cook
Debra E. Lyon
Publication date: 01-01-2017
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer / Issue 1/2017
Print ISSN: 0941-4355
Electronic ISSN: 1433-7339
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3400-2

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Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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