Table 2.
Neuropsychological assessment, questionnaires and blood markers.
| C+ n = 19 |
C− n = 18 |
HC n = 33 |
Group Difference p Value * |
Post-hoc p Value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C+ vs. HC | C− vs. HC | C+ vs. C− | ||||||||
| Cognition (C+ n = 18) | ||||||||||
| Global deficit score, mean (SD) | 0.27 | (0.27) | 0.21 | (0.14) | - | 0.388 | - | - | - | |
| Impaired, no. (%) (GDS) | 3 | (17) | 0 | (0) | - | 0.286 † | - | - | - | |
| Self-report cognitively impaired, no. (%) (CFQTOT) | 4 | (22) | 1 | (6) | 0 | (0) | 0.434 † | - | - | - |
| Self-report, mean (SD) (C+ n = 18) | ||||||||||
| Beck depression inventory | 10.83 | (5.25) | 7.28 | (6.62) | 4.11 | (3.45) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.040 | 0.034 |
| Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory | 41.00 | (11.62) | 37.83 | (14.36) | 31.74 | (9.09) | 0.008 | 0.005 | 0.053 | 0.407 |
| Self-perceived stress scale | 16.67 | (6.75) | 15.44 | (9.82) | 9.20 | (6.06) | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.006 | 0.638 |
| Fatigue assessment scale | 28.17 | (6.41) | 26.17 | (7.39) | 19.43 | (5.79) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.001 | 0.324 |
| CFQ total score | 39.61 | (15.31) | 33.50 | (13.54) | 25.38 | (8.00) | 0.001 | <0.001 | 0.026 | 0.130 |
| Inflammatory markers, median pg/mL (IQR) | ||||||||||
| bNGF | 18.20 | (8.87) | 16.52 | (9.80) | 19.29 | (9.48) | 0.961 | - | - | - |
| CRP, mg/L | 1.20 | (0.90) | 1.30 | (2.75) | 0.85 | (0.65) | 0.240 | - | - | - |
| Eotaxin | 27.07 | (5.85) | 29.58 | (11.84) | 28.66 | (12.31) | 0.555 | - | - | - |
| IFN-g | 3.39 | (1.91) | 3.39 | (1.55) | 2.68 | (1.27) | 0.471 | - | - | - |
| IL-1a | 1.20 | (0.93) | 1.29 | (1.72) | 1.03 | (1.01) | 0.668 † | - | - | - |
| IL-1b | 1.16 | (0.82) | 2.27 | (3.00) | 1.16 | (1.23) | 0.440 † | - | - | - |
| IL-4 | 12.70 | (5.54) | 11.87 | (7.10) | 10.50 | (3.88) | 0.578 | - | - | - |
| IL-6 | 7.66 | (5.04) | 6.41 | (3.02) | 4.60 | (2.98) | 0.031 | 0.010 | 0.402 | 0.093 |
| IL-8 | 9.68 | (3.81) | 8.58 | (12.23) | 5.31 | (3.81) | 0.001 | 0.008 | 0.001 | 0.446 |
| IL-10 | 1.24 | (0.93) | 0.97 | (0.63) | 0.97 | (0.66) | 0.638 | - | - | - |
| IL-12 | 2.00 | (0.40) | 2.10 | (0.35) | 1.95 | (0.27) | 0.187 | - | - | - |
| IL-18 | 36.55 | (27.75) | 31.10 | (7.85) | 33.47 | (24.51) | 0.751 | - | - | - |
| MCP-1 | 70.33 | (33.35) | 61.54 | (25.56) | 47.64 | (16.70) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.033 | 0.069 |
| MIP-1B | 146.36 | (101.06) | 105.73 | (121.97) | 79.78 | (53.70) | 0.006 | 0.002 | 0.098 | 0.210 |
| TNF-a | 0.64 | (1.24) | 1.39 | (2.44) | 0.88 | (1.39) | 0.575 † | - | - | - |
| VCAM-1 | 93294 | (41634) | 73552 | (47979) | 91143 | (52101) | 0.051 | - | - | - |
| VEGF-A | 24.15 | (18.88) | 27.56 | (15.50) | 31.98 | (24.97) | 0.338 | - | - | - |
| Neuronal survival markers, median pg/mL (IQR) | ||||||||||
| BDNF | 617.24 | (472.04) | 741.98 | (843.38) | 1110.17 | (482.29) | 0.010 | 0.011 | 0.484 | 0.089 |
| NfL | 339.00 | (399.00) | 16.55 | (19.84) | 14.38 | (11.68) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.475 | <0.001 |
* Group differences tested with ANOVA for continuous variables, with years of education (GDS) or age (blood markers) as covariate, and chi-square tests for categorical variables (last indicated by †). When no main group effect was found, subsequent least-square difference tests were not performed (-). All blood biomarkers were log-transformed for analysis. 50% of Il-1a, IL-1b and TNF-a levels were very close to the detection limit and therefore converted to a 1 (equal or above detection limit) or 0 (below detection limit) variable. Abbreviations: BDNF = brain-derived neurotrophic factor, bNGF = beta nerve growth factor, CFQ = cognitive failure questionnaire, CRP= C-reactive protein, C− = chemotherapy-naïve breast cancer patients, C+ = breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy, GDS = global deficit score, HC = healthy controls, IFN-g = interferon gamma, IL = interleukin, IQR = inter-quartile range, MCP-1 = monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, MIP-1 = macrophage inflammatory protein 1, NfL = neurofilament light-chain, TNF-a = tumor necrosis factor alpha, VCAM-1 = vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, VEGF-A = vascular endothelial growth factor.