Abstract 1828P
Background
Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI), also known as chemobrain or cancerbrain, represents cognitive impairment among cancer patients and survivors. There has been a growing interest in better understanding the perspectives and experiences of patients with CRCI, as well as its impact on their daily lives. A survey program was conducted by Kantar Health, an independent research agency, in collaboration with RoseUp, a French national cancer patient Non-Governmental Organization, to assess the health-related quality of life (QoL) of female breast cancer patients with self-reported CRCI in France.
Methods
An online quantitative survey was proposed to all RoseUp members, newsletter subscribers or website visitors in France from August 26 to October 29, 2020. A 25-min questionnaire included items related to the awareness of the term “chemobrain,” medical history, and the impact of CRCI on QoL assessed using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) scores. Informed consent was given prior to starting the survey and data analyzed were anonymized.
Results
A total of 1,668 French women with breast cancer completed the online questionnaire. Among them, 75% (n=1,248) self-reported suffering from CRCI, currently or in the past. Among women with CRCI, responses to the four subscales of Fact-Cog (Perceived Cognitive Impairments subscale, Comments from Others subscale, Perceived Cognitive Abilities subscale, QoL subscale) showed a high level of impairment. Among women employed prior to cancer diagnosis, 80% declared that CRCI had a noticeable impact on their work. Significant differences were noted in the HADS score between women with CRCI and women without, the former reported more anxiety (76% vs 65%, p<0.01) and depression (47% vs 23%, p<0.01) than the latter; they also declared worse quality of sleep (73% vs 54%, p<0.01).
Conclusions
The survey shows high impact of CRCI on all Fact-Cog subscales and on QoL, which is similar to what has been previously reported in scientific literature.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Kantar Health SAS.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
I. Krakowski: Non-Financial Interests, Institutional, Leadership Role, Chairman: Association Francophone pour les Soins Oncologiques de Support; Non-Financial Interests, Institutional, Member of the Board of Directors, Non-profit Patients Association: RoseUp; Non-Financial Interests, Institutional, Member of the Board of Directors, Non- Profit Medical Association: Société Française d'Oncologie Médicale. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.