Table 1.
Summary of subject characteristics.
| Characteristics, Cognitive Status, and Cytokine Levels | Pre-C/T | Post-C/T | Non-Cancer | ANOVA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Patients | Cancer Patients | Controls | ||||
| (N = 70) | (N = 36) | (N = 30) | ||||
| Basic Information | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | p | η 2 | Post Hoc Tests ‡ |
| Age (years) | 51.74 (11.39) | 49.97 (10.04) | 48.13 (11.30) | 0.312 | 0.017 | |
| BMI | 24.14 (3.73) | 24.42 (4.15) | 24.77 (3.00) | 0.738 | 0.005 | |
| Education (years) | 11.01 (4.46) | 11.97 (3.82) | 12.50 (3.97) | 0.220 | 0.023 | |
| IQ † | 100.00 (11.37) | 101.14 (13.66) | 106.60 (10.43) | 0.039 * | 0.049 | control > pre-C/T |
| PHQ-9 | 5.14 (4.42) | 4.06 (3.91) | 2.07 (2.56) | 0.002 * | 0.088 | pre-C/T > control |
| HADS-A | 4.21 (3.71) | 2.44 (2.56) | 1.97 (2.68) | 0.002 * | 0.090 | pre-C/T > control |
| BFI—fatigue severity score | 1.43 (2.29) | 2.26 (2.14) | 2.29 (2.62) | 0.108 | 0.033 | |
| BFI—fatigue interference score | 4.04 (6.23) | 4.94 (8.04) | 0.68 (1.36) | 0.014 * | 0.063 | pre-C/T > control post-C/T > control |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||||
| Menopausal status (No) | 37 (52.9) | 36 (100) | 14 (46.7) | <0.001 | ||
| Stage | 0.823 | |||||
| Stage I | 21 (30.00) | 12 (30.00) | - | |||
| Stage II | 36 (51.43) | 16 (44.44) | - | |||
| Stage III | 12 (17.14) | 7 (19.44) | - | |||
| Treatment | ||||||
| Mastectomy | 17 (24.64) | 33 (94.29) | - | |||
| Time from Mastectomy to recruitment, days, Mean (SD) | 93.53 (181.55) | 288.43 (56.84) | ||||
| Radiotherapy | 1 (1.43) | 30 (83.33) | - | |||
| Hormonal therapy | 3 (4.29) | 28 (77.78) | - | |||
| Targeted therapy | 0 | 0 | - | |||
| Chemotherapy regimen | ||||||
| Cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and doxorubicin, and docetaxel | - | 15 (50.00) | - | |||
| Cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and doxorubicin, docetaxel, and cisplatin | - | 4 (13.33) | - | |||
| Cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and doxorubicin | - | 4 (13.33) | - | |||
| Cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil | - | 3 (1.00) | - | |||
| Cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, epirubicin and doxorubicin | - | 1 (0.03) | - | |||
| Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Cognitive Scale (FACT-Cog) | 119.26 (10.54) | 118.58 (10.11) | 116.13 (16.25) | 0.485 | 0.011 | |
| Perceived Cognitive Impairment | 66.03 (6.41) | 65.83 (6.25) | 64.50 (9.70) | 0.615 | 0.007 | |
| Comments from Others | 15.71 (0.89) | 15.56 (0.81) | 15.27 (1.82) | 0.201 | 0.024 | |
| Perceived Cognitive Abilities | 22.13 (3.73) | 21.81 (3.48) | 21.30 (4.79) | 0.624 | 0.007 | |
| Impact of Perceived Cognitive Impairments on Quality of Life | 15.39 (1.96) | 15.39 (1.42) | 15.07 (2.16) | 0.714 | 0.005 | |
| Cytokines | ||||||
| Th1 | ||||||
| IFNγ | 6.35 (5.68) | 6.72 (4.62) | 12.45 (7.32) | <0.001 * | 0.156 | control > pre-C/T control > post-C/T |
| IL-12p70 | 1.90 (1.56) | 1.93 (1.42) | 3.25 (2.00) | 0.001 | 0.016 | control > pre-C/T control > post-C/T |
| IL-1β | 0.74 (0.81) | 0.64 (0.49) | 0.95 (0.50) | 0.175 | 0.026 | |
| IL-2 | 1.29 (1.10) | 0.96 (0.80) | 1.66 (1.29) | 0.036 * | 0.049 | control > post-C/T |
| TNF | 4.38 (2.55) | 4.99 (2.58) | 5.61 (2.83) | 0.093 | 0.035 | |
| Th2 | ||||||
| IL-4 | 10.09 (11.11) | 14.75 (22.05) | 18.62 (18.01) | 0.047 | 0.045 | |
| IL-5 | 1.53 (1.22) | 1.16 (0.95) | 1.70 (1.18) | 0.134 | 0.030 | |
| IL-10 | 4.64 (3.83) | 3.45 (3.34) | 6.28 (4.83) | 0.016 * | 0.060 | control > post-C/T |
| IL-13 | 2.56 (2.71) | 2.84 (4.03) | 4.68 (2.72) | 0.008 * | 0.071 | control > pre-C/T |
| Th17 | ||||||
| IL-6 | 1.43 (1.68) | 1.63 (1.88) | 2.33 (1.69) | 0.060 | 0.041 | |
| IL-17A | 5.40 (3.97) | 4.87 (2.65) | 7.70 (3.93) | 0.004 * | 0.078 | control > pre-C/T control > post-C/T |
† Intelligence Quotient (IQ) estimated by the short form of the Taiwan Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III; PHQ-9: Patient Health Questionnaire-9; HADS-A: Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale; BFI: Brief Fatigue Inventory; ‡ Significant difference after Bonferroni correction; * p < 0.05.