The effect of cancer and cancer treatment on attention control: Evidence from anti-saccade performance Journal Article
| Authors: | Edelman, J. A.; Ahles, T. A.; Estelle, M. C.; Mohr, I.; Li, Y.; Melara, R.; Root, J. C. |
| Article Title: | The effect of cancer and cancer treatment on attention control: Evidence from anti-saccade performance |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Cancer and cancer treatment have been associated with cognitive changes in survivorship, with forgetfulness and distractibility reported years post-treatment. Deficits in attention control may explain these difficulties. We assessed breast cancer survivors using a primary measure of attention control, the saccade/antisaccade task, to assess the effects of diagnosis and treatment. Methods: Saccade performance was studied in a cohort of breast cancer patients at two time points, (1) after surgery before adjuvant treatment and (2) approximately 2 years after enrollment, and compared to non-cancer controls. Saccade performance was assessed in a prosaccade task as well as in visually guided and unguided antisaccade tasks. We assessed the frequency of directional errors and saccadic reaction time. Results: Survivors were more likely than controls to make directional errors in an unguided antisaccade task, with older survivors exhibiting the most significant difficulties following adjuvant treatment. Survivor and control performance were much more similar in a visually guided antisaccade task. Conclusions: These results indicate a main effect of cancer diagnosis on attention control, with greater deficits following treatment and in older survivors. Deficits in attention control may lead to greater difficulties in the initial learning of information, explaining reports of forgetfulness in survivors. Implications for Cancer Survivors: These findings underscore the enduring impact of cancer and its treatment on attention control, particularly highlighting that older breast cancer survivors may experience more pronounced difficulties with inhibitory control in daily life. Antisaccade performance may provide a useful metric for quantifying this impact. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024. |
| Keywords: | breast cancer; attention; adjuvant treatment; executive function; saccade |
| Journal Title: | Journal of Cancer Survivorship |
| ISSN: | 1932-2259 |
| Publisher: | Springer |
| Publication status: | Online ahead of print |
| Date Published: | 2024-11-15 |
| Online Publication Date: | 2024-11-15 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11764-024-01711-2 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| PUBMED: | 39548022 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Article -- MSK Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA008748) acknowledged in PubMed and PDF -- Source: Scopus |
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