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Tracking the Mammary Architectural Features and Detecting Breast Cancer with Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: December 15, 2014
Altered small-world properties of gray matter networks in breast cancer
S M Hadi Hosseini1, Della Koovakkattu, Shelli R Kesler
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305-5795, USA.
Background:
Breast cancer survivors, particularly those treated with chemotherapy, are at significantly increased risk for long-term cognitive and neurobiologic impairments. These deficits tend to involve skills that are subserved by distributed brain networks. Additionally, neuroimaging studies have shown a diffuse pattern of brain structure changes in chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors that might impact large-scale brain networks.
Methods:
We therefore applied graph theoretical analysis to compare the gray matter structural networks of female breast cancer survivors with a history of chemotherapy treatment and healthy age and education matched female controls.
Results:
Results revealed reduced clustering coefficient and small-world index in the brain network of the breast cancer patients across a range of network densities. In addition, the network of the breast cancer group had less highly interactive nodes and reduced degree/centrality in the frontotemporal regions compared to controls, which may help explain the common impairments of memory and executive functioning among these patients.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that breast cancer and chemotherapy may decrease regional connectivity as well as global network organization and integration, reducing efficiency of the network. To our knowledge, this is the first report of altered large-scale brain networks associated with breast cancer and chemotherapy.
Insights
Breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy show altered brain networks, impacting cognitive functions. This study reveals reduced connectivity and integration in their brain structure compared to healthy controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Breast cancer survivors, especially those receiving chemotherapy, face increased risks of long-term cognitive and neurobiological impairments.
- These cognitive deficits often affect skills reliant on distributed brain networks.
- Neuroimaging indicates diffuse brain structure changes in survivors, potentially impacting large-scale brain networks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate alterations in gray matter structural brain networks of female breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy.
- To compare these networks with those of healthy, age- and education-matched female controls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized graph theoretical analysis to examine structural brain networks.
- Compared gray matter networks between breast cancer survivors (with chemotherapy history) and control participants.
Main Results:
- Breast cancer patients exhibited reduced clustering coefficient and small-world index in their brain networks.
- The patient group showed less interactive nodes and reduced frontotemporal centrality compared to controls.
- These network changes may explain common memory and executive function impairments in survivors.
Conclusions:
- Breast cancer and chemotherapy appear to decrease regional connectivity and global network organization.
- This leads to reduced efficiency within the brain's large-scale networks.
- This study is the first to report altered large-scale brain networks linked to breast cancer and chemotherapy.
