The relationship of APOE genotype to neuropsychological performance in long‐term cancer survivors treated with standard dose chemotherapy

TLDR

The study compared neuropsychological performance of long‑term breast cancer and lymphoma survivors with and without the APOE ε4 allele after standard‑dose chemotherapy. The study assessed 80 survivors (51 breast cancer, 29 lymphoma) eight years post‑treatment, administering neuropsychological tests and grouping them by APOE ε4 carrier status. Survivors with at least one ε4 allele performed significantly worse in visual memory and spatial ability, and tended to score lower in psychomotor functioning, compared to non‑carriers, with no differences in depression, anxiety, or fatigue. © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to compare the neuropsychological performance of long‐term survivors of breast cancer and lymphoma treated with standard dose chemotherapy who carried the ε4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene to those who carry other APOE alleles. Patients and methods: Long‐term survivors (mean=8.8±4.3 years post‐treatment) of breast cancer ( N=51 , age=55.9±8.8) or lymphoma ( N =29, age=55.8±11.6) who had been treated with standard‐dose chemotherapy completed a standardized battery of neuropsychological and psychological tests. Survivors were also classified into two groups based on the presence ( N =17) or absence ( N =63) of at least one ε4 allele of APOE. Results: Analysis of covariance, controlling for age, gender, education, diagnosis, and WRAT‐3 reading subtest (a proxy measure of baseline IQ), indicated that survivors with at least one ε4 allele scored significantly lower in the visual memory ( p <0.03) and the spatial ability ( p <0.05) domains and tended to score lower in the psychomotor functioning ( p <0.08) domain as compared to survivors who did not carry an ε4 allele. No group differences were found on depression, anxiety, or fatigue. Conclusions: The results of this study provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that the ε4 allele of APOE may be a potential genetic marker for increased vulnerability to chemotherapy‐induced cognitive decline. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.