CRP Levels and Brain Function in Breast Cancer Survivors Aged Over 60

Cancer treatments, and sometimes cancer itself, are known to have adverse effects on the brain's cognitive functions. This is called chemo brain. Journal of Clinical Oncology published a study on 30 September 2022 in women diagnosed at age 60 or older with stage 0 to III breast cancer. Those with higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at baseline and during follow-up had poorer cognitive performance than controls.

What Is CRP?

CRP is a protein produced by the liver. A C-reactive protein (CRP) test measures the CRP level in a blood sample. Low levels of C-reactive protein are normally present in our blood. If there is acute or chronic inflammation in the body, the liver releases more CRP into the bloodstream.

• What Is CRP? What Does a High or Low CRP Test Result Mean?

Study Details

The study included 400 breast cancer survivors and 329 people without a cancer diagnosis enrolled at US hospitals between September 2010 and March 2020.

Cancer-free controls were frequency-matched to survivors for age, education and race when enrolled at each study site. Women with dementia (Alzheimer's disease), neurological disorders or other cancers were excluded.

Participants' cognitive function was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) and neuropsychological tests. CRP was measured at every treatment-centre visit. Analyses were adjusted for age, race, study site, cognitive reserve, obesity and comorbidities.

Key Findings

Most breast cancer survivors had stage 1 breast cancer (60.9%) and oestrogen receptor-positive tumours (87.6%).

Among participants with baseline samples, CRP levels ≥ 3 mg/L were found in 42.4% of survivors and 26.1% of controls (P  < 0.001).

Survivors had significantly higher CRP levels than controls at baseline and at the 12-, 24- and 60-month visits (all P < 0.05). Higher CRP predicted poorer cognitive function on cognitive testing among survivors ( P = 0.040), but no such association was seen among controls. These effects were unchanged in analyses including depression and anxiety.

Overall, as CRP levels in survivors rose from 1 to 3.0 mg/L, cognitive function scores were 5.2, 9.5 and 14.2 points lower than controls, respectively.

Why Is This Study Important?

The association between CRP and cognitive function suggests that chronic inflammation may play a role in cognitive problems among people surviving breast cancer at age 60 and over. A CRP test may therefore be clinically useful in predicting which patients are at risk of chemo brain.

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In the video below, you can learn how and why breast cancer develops, its types and the latest treatments according to stage.