A Prospective Study on Effect of Systemic Adjuvant Therapy on Cognitive and Brain Function of Breast Cancer Patients

The purpose of the study is to examine cognitive and brain function in stage I-III breast cancer patients who have undergone adjuvant systemic therapy (chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus anti-hormonal therapy) in comparison to a group of healthy controls. Our hypothesis is that systemic adjuvant therapy in the form of chemotherapy or chemotherapy and anti-hormonal therapy given to primary breast cancer patients can cause cognitive impairment. We hypothesize that the use of simultaneous PET/MRI will allow us to determine key regions in the brain that show metabolic, structural, and functional deficits in a semi-quantitative manner and reveal subtle changes that are often missed during neuropsychological tests due to the low sensitivity of neuropsychological batteries.