title: Relationship between distressing cancer-related recollections and hippocampal volume in cancer survivors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Having cancer is extremely stressful, and distressing cancer-related recollections are frequently reported by cancer survivors. Smaller hippocampal volume has been observed in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a similar association between distressing cancer-related recollections and hippocampal volume.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 67 women who had had breast cancer surgery 3 or more years earlier and had no history of PTSD or major depression before the cancer. Each woman was evaluated with a semistructured interview to determine whether she had a history of distressing cancer-related recollections. Hippocampal volume was measured by three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging, and memory function was assessed by the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The volume of the left hippocampus was significantly smaller (5%) in the subjects with a history of distressing cancer-related recollections (N=28) than in those without any such history (N=39). There was no significant difference in right hippocampal volume or whole brain volume measured as a control. There were no significant differences in delayed memory or percentage retention. However, significantly worse immediate visual memory, but not verbal memory, was observed in the subjects with a history of distressing cancer-related recollections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having distressing cancer-related recollections is associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in survivors of breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Psycho-Oncology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wenner
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kugaya
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akechi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugahara
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imoto
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uchitomi
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D014888:Wechsler Scales