'Chemo Brain' May Linger 20 Years After Breast Cancer Treatment

Some women who received a once-standard drug regimen still have memory problems, study says

February 27, 2012 RSS Feed Print

"There were many differences between these two groups," Weiss said, including whether or not they underwent the specific chemotherapy regimen. "We still need to fill in the other puzzle pieces before we can see what the picture is going to look like."

Dr. Stefan Gluck, a professor in the department of medicine and assistant director of the University of Miami/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, said that the new findings confirm this is not a temporary problem. "It may be the combination of drugs used 20 years ago were more likely to cause these issues," he said. "Today's drugs may be less likely to cause long-term cognitive effects."

He also added that drugs taken by many breast cancer survivors to stave off a breast cancer recurrence after treatment may also contribute to chemo brain.

More information

Learn more about coping with chemotherapy side effects from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.