Scientists warn of chemotherapy can cause brain damage in patients with breast cancer. A study revealed that breast cancer patients who have used drugs to kill cancer cells experienced a significant reduction in activity in the brain responsible for memory and planning than those who did not undergo treatment.

Researchers from Stanford University believe the findings could explain the phenomenon of “chemo brain” a term used to describe a foggy mind and memory disorders after undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Study leader, Shelly Kesler, said, “This is great validation for the women who told their doctors” there is something wrong with me “.

Volunteers who number 25 breast cancer patients were asked to do card sorting task, which involves problem-solving skills, while their brain activity was monitored by functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI).

A total of 25 patients who had been treated with chemotherapy to make more errors on the task and a scan revealed decreased activity in the brain that is responsible for working memory, cognitive control, monitoring, and planning.

But traditional doctors dismissed these complaints and connect them with the stress caused by the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Kesler said the next step is to begin to investigate which patients are most susceptible to this problem is associated with chemotherapy, either in the form of tablets or by injection or infusion directly into a vein.

A 2008 study by the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Harvard Medical School links the use of chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with damage to brain cells.

The author, Mark Noble, said: “It is clear that in some patients, chemotherapy trigger degenerative conditions in the central nervous system.”