Research Article

The relationship of APOE genotype to neuropsychological performance in long-term cancer survivors treated with standard dose chemotherapy

  1. Tim A. Ahles1,*,
  2. Andrew J. Saykin2,3,
  3. Walter W. Noll4,
  4. Charlotte T. Furstenberg1,
  5. Stephen Guerin2,
  6. Bernard Cole5,
  7. Leila A. Mott5

Article first published online: 7 JUL 2003

DOI: 10.1002/pon.742

Issue

Psycho‐Oncology

Psycho-Oncology

Volume 12, Issue 6, pages 612–619, September 2003

Additional Information

How to Cite

Ahles, T. A., Saykin, A. J., Noll, W. W., Furstenberg, C. T., Guerin, S., Cole, B. and Mott, L. A. (2003), The relationship of APOE genotype to neuropsychological performance in long-term cancer survivors treated with standard dose chemotherapy. Psycho-Oncology, 12: 612–619. doi: 10.1002/pon.742

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Psychiatry and Center for Psycho-Oncology Research, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Psychiatry (Neuropsychology Program), USA

  3. 3

    New Hampshire Hospital, Concord, NH, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Pathology, USA

  5. 5

    Community and Family Medicine and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, USA

*Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 12 AUG 2003
  2. Article first published online: 7 JUL 2003
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 20 MAY 2003
  4. Manuscript Received: 17 DEC 2002

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Abstract

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to compare the neuropsychological performance of long-term survivors of breast cancer and lymphoma treated with standard dose chemotherapy who carried the ε4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene to those who carry other APOE alleles.

Patients and methods: Long-term survivors (mean=8.8±4.3 years post-treatment) of breast cancer (N=51, age=55.9±8.8) or lymphoma (N=29, age=55.8±11.6) who had been treated with standard-dose chemotherapy completed a standardized battery of neuropsychological and psychological tests. Survivors were also classified into two groups based on the presence (N=17) or absence (N=63) of at least one ε4 allele of APOE.

Results: Analysis of covariance, controlling for age, gender, education, diagnosis, and WRAT-3 reading subtest (a proxy measure of baseline IQ), indicated that survivors with at least one ε4 allele scored significantly lower in the visual memory (p<0.03) and the spatial ability (p<0.05) domains and tended to score lower in the psychomotor functioning (p<0.08) domain as compared to survivors who did not carry an ε4 allele. No group differences were found on depression, anxiety, or fatigue.

Conclusions: The results of this study provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that the ε4 allele of APOE may be a potential genetic marker for increased vulnerability to chemotherapy-induced cognitive decline. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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