A Longitudinal Assessment of Cytokines and Prospective Memory Functioning in Chemotherapy Exposed Breast Cancer Patients

The present study sought to evaluate whether altered levels of cytokines may be associated with prospective memory (PM) deficits among breast cancer patients, as examined subjectively and objectively in a longitudinal case-control design, and to investigate possible predictors of these disturbances. As patients often complain of cognitive dysfunction, a secondary aim was to examine whether PM may better account for the self-reported deficits, or if dissociations may be attributable to reduced memory self-awareness. Seventeen women with breast cancer were assessed before chemotherapy and three months post-chemotherapy, and were compared with 17 age- and education-matched healthy controls. Patient PM deficits were found to emerge prior to chemotherapy, and IL-18 may be associated with changes in aspects of PM. Patients did not report more difficulties in PM, and subjective-objective associations were not apparent or explained by memory self-awareness. Interventions to ameliorate PM and associates of systemic inflammation should be investigated.