Exploring the impact and expression of pre-treatment Cancer Related Cognitive Impairment in patients
Aideen Scriney
Aideen Scriney was awarded an IRC Enterprise Partnership Scheme in conjunction with Breakthrough 2022. Aideen is working with Dr Lorraine Boran in DCU on the PreCog Study: Exploring the impact and expression of pre-treatment Cancer Related Cognitive impairment in patients to improve post-operative cognitive function.
Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) affects approximately 30% of patients worldwide. This occurs not only as a result of treatments such as chemotherapy but has also been reported in between 5-33% of cancer patients before treatment. CRCI can have long-term effects on patients as they return to work and daily life, affecting domains such as memory and attention. Currently it remains unclear whether CRCI is because of the cancer itself, the treatment and/or psychological factors, and disparities exist between patients’ subjective experience of CRCI, and the rates of objective CRIC measurement. As survivorship increases, there is a need to address CRCI and its long term effects on patients, in particular pre- and during treatment and to explore its relevance across less common cancer types. There is also a need to explore the subjective perception of CRCI among patients as this has the largest impact on their daily lives.
This research will focus on targeting intervention at patients before treatment or surgery to prepare patients for the stress of treatment. In particular it will focus on the impact of exercise prehabilitation on CRCI, an area which is very much under researched.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Conference presentations
EBPOM World Congress of Prehabilitation, University College London 2023. Title: Exploring the Impact and Expression of Pre-treatment Cancer Related Cognitive Impairment(CRCI) in Patients to Support Postoperative Cognitive Function: Study Protocol.
Neuroscience Society of Ireland Annual Conference, RCSI, Dublin 2023. Title: PreCog: Exploring the Impact and Expression of Pre-treatment Cancer Related Cognitive Impairment(CRCI) in Patients to Support Postoperative Cognitive Function: Study Protocol
European Health Psychology Society Annual Conference, Portugal 2024. Title: Exploring Expressions of Pre-treatment Cancer Related Cognitive Impairment during a Bimodal Prehabilitation Program: Preliminary Findings
Psychological Society of Ireland Annual Conference 2024. Title: The PANO Trial Pre-Surgical Information Pack: PPI Co-Designed to Achieve Greater Patient Wellbeing and Self-Confidence to Combat Misinformation.
Aideen wrote an article for RTE News entitled “Why cancer patients can suffer from ‘chemobrain’- and how to prevent it” – https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2024/0524/1450563-cancer-chemotherapy-chemobrain-treatment-prehabilitation/
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Start year
2022
End year
2025
Principal Investigator
Dr. Lorraine Boran
Researcher
Aideen Scriney
Institution
Dublin City University
Grant Funding
IRC Enterprise Partnership Scheme in partnership with Breakthrough Cancer Research
Linked Breakthrough Research Priorities
Improve integration of cancer research into cancer care in Ireland and increase clinical capacity by prioritising funding for projects and programmes with significant clinical engagement.
Invest in research-led innovation at every stage of the cancer patient journey from first diagnosis through to treatment, clinical trials and palliative care to improve survival and quality of life.