Functional connectivity change of brain default mode network in breast cancer patients after chemotherapy.
BACKGROUND
Complaint about attention disorders is common among breast cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy, which may be associated with the default mode network (DMN). To validate this hypothesis, we investigated the DMN functional connectivity (FC) change and its relationship with the attention function in breast cancer patients (BC) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).


METHODS
Twenty-two BC treated with chemotherapy and 22 healthy controls (HC) were recruited into this study. The FC between the DMN's hubs and regions of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) and medial temporal lobe (MTL) subsystems was respectively calculated for each participant.


RESULTS
The statistical result showed significantly lower connectivity in dMPFC and MTL subsystems in the BC group. In addition, the partial correlation analysis result indicated that the low connectivity of some brain regions in MTL subsystem was correlated with attention dysfunction following BC chemotherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the functional disconnection in MTL subsystem of the DMN may have association with attention function of BC after chemotherapy.
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Hui
H
Miao
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230022, China.
Xingui
X
Chen
Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Yunwen
Y
Yan
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Xiaoxuan
X
He
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Sheng
S
Hu
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Jian
J
Kong
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Meiqi
M
Wu
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Yarui
Y
Wei
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Yawen
Y
Zhou
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Lu
L
Wang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230022, China. wangkai1964@126.com.
Kai
K
Wang
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China. bqiu@ustc.edu.cn.|Anhui Computer Application Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, 230038, China. bqiu@ustc.edu.cn.
Bensheng
B
Qiu
D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D043823:Taxoids; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide
Attention deficit; Breast cancer; Chemotherapy; Cognitive impairment; Default mode network