Eye Movement Impairment in Women Undergoing Chemotherapy

The assessment of visual attention is important in visual and cognitive neuroscience, providing objective measures for researchers and clinicians. This study investigated the effects of chemotherapy on eye movements in women with breast cancer. Twelve women with breast cancer and twelve healthy controls aged between 33 and 59 years completed a visual search task, identifying an Arabic number among 79 alphabetic letters. Test duration, fixation duration, total fixation duration, and total visit duration were recorded. Compared to healthy controls, women with breast cancer exhibited significantly longer mean fixation duration [t = 4.54, p < 0.00]; mean total fixation duration [t = 2.41, p < 0.02]; mean total visitation duration [t = 2.05, p < 0.05]; and total test time [t = 2.32, p < 0.03]. Additionally, positive correlations were observed between the number of chemotherapy cycles and the eye tracking parameters. These results suggest the possibility of slower information processing in women experiencing acute effects of chemotherapy. However, further studies are needed to clarify this relationship.