Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?

As the number of cancer survivors rises, so does the importance of understanding what happens post-chemotherapy. The evidence is clear that chemotherapy affects not only cancer cells, but also healthy cells including neurons, leading to long-term cognitive dysfunction in a large portion of survivors...

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Main Author: Summer F. Acevedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2012-01-01
Series:Breast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4137/BCBCR.S10293
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author Summer F. Acevedo
author_facet Summer F. Acevedo
author_sort Summer F. Acevedo
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description As the number of cancer survivors rises, so does the importance of understanding what happens post-chemotherapy. The evidence is clear that chemotherapy affects not only cancer cells, but also healthy cells including neurons, leading to long-term cognitive dysfunction in a large portion of survivors. In order to understand the mechanism of action and in the hope of reducing the potential neurocognitive side effects of chemotherapy, pre-clinical testing should be used more effectively. However, the field is lacking translation from clinical studies to animal models. Spatial learning and memory paradigms based on the water maze, the most commonly used rodent model, are available for translational testing in humans and could overcome this weakness. There is an overwhelming need in the field to understand whether the water maze is an adequate model for post-chemotherapy impairments or whether other paradigms should be used. This is of great importance for the understanding of the mechanisms, side effects of new drugs, appropriate pharmacotherapy, and confounding factors related to chemotherapy treatment regiments. This review is very important to both basic scientists and clinicians determining how translational paradigms are critical to future cancer research, as well as what type of paradigms are appropriate in our technically advancing society.
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spelling doaj.art-81e01f583c6e4ed58012fd15a62c5e5b2022-12-22T00:47:21ZengSAGE PublishingBreast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research1178-22342012-01-01610.4137/BCBCR.S10293Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?Summer F. Acevedo0Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, Psychology Program, Ponce School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ponce, Puerto Rico.As the number of cancer survivors rises, so does the importance of understanding what happens post-chemotherapy. The evidence is clear that chemotherapy affects not only cancer cells, but also healthy cells including neurons, leading to long-term cognitive dysfunction in a large portion of survivors. In order to understand the mechanism of action and in the hope of reducing the potential neurocognitive side effects of chemotherapy, pre-clinical testing should be used more effectively. However, the field is lacking translation from clinical studies to animal models. Spatial learning and memory paradigms based on the water maze, the most commonly used rodent model, are available for translational testing in humans and could overcome this weakness. There is an overwhelming need in the field to understand whether the water maze is an adequate model for post-chemotherapy impairments or whether other paradigms should be used. This is of great importance for the understanding of the mechanisms, side effects of new drugs, appropriate pharmacotherapy, and confounding factors related to chemotherapy treatment regiments. This review is very important to both basic scientists and clinicians determining how translational paradigms are critical to future cancer research, as well as what type of paradigms are appropriate in our technically advancing society.https://doi.org/10.4137/BCBCR.S10293
spellingShingle Summer F. Acevedo
Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?
Breast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research
title Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?
title_full Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?
title_fullStr Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?
title_full_unstemmed Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?
title_short Why, after Chemotherapy, is it Necessary to Assess Memory Using Translational Testing?
title_sort why after chemotherapy is it necessary to assess memory using translational testing
url https://doi.org/10.4137/BCBCR.S10293
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