Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1996 Nov;74(10):1674–1679. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.608

What do cancer patients mean when they complain of concentration and memory problems?

A Cull 1, C Hay 1, S B Love 1, M Mackie 1, E Smets 1, M Stewart 1
PMCID: PMC2074867  PMID: 8932354

Abstract

Cognitive function items are increasingly included in quality of life measures, and complaints of concentration and memory difficulties are often reported by cancer patients. The aim of this study was to examine the factors influencing patients' level of complaint by comparing subjective reports with objective test performance of a sample of adult lymphoma patients, disease-free and > or = 6 months after treatment. There was no significant difference between complainers and non-complainers in sociodemographic or clinical characteristics or in their performance on standard neuropsychometric tests of concentration and memory. Those reporting concentration and memory difficulties had significantly higher scores on measures of anxiety, depression and fatigue. This calls into question the validity of including cognitive function items in self-report quality of life measures. Patients who report concentration and memory difficulties should be screened for clinically significant and potentially remediable mood disorder. Objective testing remains the method of choice for assessing higher mental function.

Full text

PDF
1674

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aaronson N. K., Ahmedzai S., Bergman B., Bullinger M., Cull A., Duez N. J., Filiberti A., Flechtner H., Fleishman S. B., de Haes J. C. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30: a quality-of-life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993 Mar 3;85(5):365–376. doi: 10.1093/jnci/85.5.365. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bentall R. P., Wood G. C., Marrinan T., Deans C., Edwards R. H. A brief mental fatigue questionnaire. Br J Clin Psychol. 1993 Sep;32(Pt 3):375–379. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1993.tb01070.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Corcoran R., Thompson P. Epilepsy and poor memory: who complains and what do they mean? Br J Clin Psychol. 1993 May;32(Pt 2):199–208. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1993.tb01044.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cull A., Stewart M., Altman D. G. Assessment of and intervention for psychosocial problems in routine oncology practice. Br J Cancer. 1995 Jul;72(1):229–235. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1995.308. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Devlen J., Maguire P., Phillips P., Crowther D. Psychological problems associated with diagnosis and treatment of lymphomas. II: Prospective study. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Oct 17;295(6604):955–957. doi: 10.1136/bmj.295.6604.955. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fobair P., Hoppe R. T., Bloom J., Cox R., Varghese A., Spiegel D. Psychosocial problems among survivors of Hodgkin's disease. J Clin Oncol. 1986 May;4(5):805–814. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1986.4.5.805. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gronwall D. M. Paced auditory serial-addition task: a measure of recovery from concussion. Percept Mot Skills. 1977 Apr;44(2):367–373. doi: 10.2466/pms.1977.44.2.367. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ibbotson T., Maguire P., Selby P., Priestman T., Wallace L. Screening for anxiety and depression in cancer patients: the effects of disease and treatment. Eur J Cancer. 1994;30A(1):37–40. doi: 10.1016/s0959-8049(05)80015-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lincoln N. B., Tinson D. J. The relation between subjective and objective memory impairment after stroke. Br J Clin Psychol. 1989 Feb;28(Pt 1):61–65. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1989.tb00812.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Razavi D., Delvaux N., Brédart A., Autier P., Bron D., Debusscher L., Stryckmans P. Professional rehabilitation of lymphoma patients: a study of psychosocial factors associated with return to work. Support Care Cancer. 1993 Sep;1(5):276–278. doi: 10.1007/BF00366050. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Smets E. M., Garssen B., Bonke B., De Haes J. C. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) psychometric qualities of an instrument to assess fatigue. J Psychosom Res. 1995 Apr;39(3):315–325. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)00125-o. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Smets E. M., Garssen B., Cull A., de Haes J. C. Application of the multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI-20) in cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. Br J Cancer. 1996 Jan;73(2):241–245. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.42. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Smets E. M., Garssen B., Schuster-Uitterhoeve A. L., de Haes J. C. Fatigue in cancer patients. Br J Cancer. 1993 Aug;68(2):220–224. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1993.319. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Zigmond A. S., Snaith R. P. The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1983 Jun;67(6):361–370. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1983.tb09716.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. de Haes J. C., van Knippenberg F. C., Neijt J. P. Measuring psychological and physical distress in cancer patients: structure and application of the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist. Br J Cancer. 1990 Dec;62(6):1034–1038. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1990.434. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. van Tulder M. W., Aaronson N. K., Bruning P. F. The quality of life of long-term survivors of Hodgkin's disease. Ann Oncol. 1994 Feb;5(2):153–158. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.annonc.a058768. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES