Lung Cancer Causes Brain Changes and Memory Problems Before Chemotherapy

A new study reveals that lung cancer can cause brain changes and memory problems even before the cancer spreads to the brain or patients receive chemotherapy treatment. This groundbreaking research challenges the common belief that only chemotherapy or brain tumors cause thinking difficulties in cancer patients.

Scientists studied 75 lung cancer patients who had never received chemotherapy and 29 healthy people of similar ages. All participants took memory and thinking tests and had detailed brain scans. The researchers wanted to see if lung cancer itself affects the brain, separate from any treatment effects.

The results were striking. Patients with advanced lung cancer showed significant brain changes compared to healthy people. Their brains had smaller volumes in twelve important areas deep inside the brain. The outer layer of their brains, called the cortex, was also thinner and had less surface area in several regions. These brain changes were much more severe in patients with advanced cancer than in those with early-stage disease.

The brain changes matched up with thinking problems. Patients with advanced lung cancer had trouble with visual and spatial tasks, like understanding directions or recognizing shapes. They also struggled with remembering things after a delay. The more advanced their cancer, the worse these problems became.

Importantly, patients with early-stage lung cancer actually showed some increased brain thickness in certain areas, suggesting the brain might initially try to compensate for the disease.

This research is important because it shows that lung cancer itself, not just its treatments, can affect brain function. The findings suggest that the disease creates inflammation or other changes in the body that reach the brain. This knowledge could help doctors better prepare patients for potential cognitive changes and develop strategies to protect brain health during cancer treatment.