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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: effects on cerebral white matter seen in diffusion tensor imaging
Jame Abraham1, Marc W Haut, Maria T Moran
1Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. jabraham@hsc.wvu.edu
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on normal-appearing white matter in women with breast cancer.
Patients And Methods:
Ten patients with early-stage breast cancer who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and 9 age-, education-, and IQ-matched healthy controls were studied with magnetic resonance imaging. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to calculate fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter integrity. Measurements were made in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum. Participants also completed measures of processing speed, depression, and anxiety.
Results:
Relative to controls, patients had slower processing speed and lower FA in the genu. Processing speed was positively correlated with FA in the genu.
Conclusion:
The results of this pilot study suggest that adjuvant chemotherapy affects normal-appearing white matter in the genu of the corpus callosum and that this is related to the cognitive deficits experienced by patients.
