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Memory problems are common among people who have a history of cancer, new research reveals. In fact, cancer survivors are 40 percent more likely than those who haven't had cancer to experience the kind of memory impairment -- called "cancer-related cognitive dysfunction" -- that compromises their ability to function on a daily basis, the study authors reported.
"One of the most important parts of cancer treatment is management of symptoms, such as impairments in attention, memory and fatigue, in order to improve a patient's quality of life," Pascal Jean-Pierre, an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research.
To assess a possible memory-cancer connection, the study authors analyzed data taken from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fourteen percent of the cancer survivors said they experienced difficulties with memory or periods of confusion, compared with just 8 percent of those who never had a cancer diagnosis.
"These memory issues can be related to treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapies," he said, "or to the tumor biology itself, which could change brain chemistry and neurobehavioral function."