Cognitive Impairment Related to Chemotherapy in 60 Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. In recent years, studies on chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment have been reported mainly on young women with breast cancer. Only few studies on chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment in patients with gastric cancer. Objective: To investigate the effect of chemotherapy on cognitive function in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods: Sixty patients with stage IV gastric cancer who received fluorouracil based chemotherapy were selected as gastric cancer group, including 25 patients with S-1 (S-1 group) and 35 patients with capecitabine (capecitabine group). 60 healthy controls matched with age and education level were recruited as control group. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) were used to test. Results: There was no significant difference in MMSE, MoCA and AVLT between healthy control group and gastric cancer group before chemotherapy. MMSE, MoCA, immediate memory and delayed memory decreased in gastric cancer patients after chemotherapy (t = 2.206, t = 2.399, t = 2.206, t = 2.654, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in MMSE, MoCA and AVLT between S-1 group and capecitabine group before and after chemotherapy. Conclusion: Patients with gastric cancer will have chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction after chemotherapy. It is necessary to evaluate and guide or treat patients with cognitive function, so as to improve the quality of life of patients.