Breast cancer survivors may be less at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to study

Cancer is not usually associated with health benefits, but a new study suggests that it could reduce the risk of dementia for some patients.

A study led by the National College of Medicine of the University of Seoul suggests that breast cancer survivors could have a slightly lesser chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who had not been undergoing treatment.

The study, published in Jama Network Open, compared data of more than 70,000 breast cancer survivors with a cancer -free control group for an average of 7.3 years.

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In general, breast cancer survivors, in particular those of 65 years and over, showed a risk of dementia of 8% in the five years after treatment.

Those who received radiation showed the greatest risk reduction, according to researchers.

The study was adjusted to other factors that could have contributed to the risk of Alzheimer’s, including age, revenue levels, geographical location, body mass index, comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol study and chronic kidney disease) and health -related behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity), declared the study.

This result conflicts with previous concerns about breast cancer patients suffering from cognitive decline after treatment.

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Chemotherapy has been previously linked to a condition called “Quimio Brain”, where patients experience a cognitive decline.

“The chimio brain refers to cognitive dysfunction, including thinking and memory problems, which occur in patients with cancer during and after chemotherapy,” researchers wrote.

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This is different from Alzheimer’s, however, with “Chemo Brain”, cognitive impairment is described as “subtle” and does not prevent the patient from recovering remote memories.

“The worries about the chemo brain and the adverse long -term effects of the treatment of breast cancer on cognition are common, but our results suggest that this treatment does not directly lead AD,” said researchers.

In fact, they stated, some studies have shown that certain medicines given to breast cancer patients can help reduce the formation of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain, which is one of the alzheimer’s badges.

From findings, researchers recommend that breast cancer patients take measures to reduce modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s, such as smoking and diabetes, along with the receipt of standard cancer treatment.

Study limitations

The study had some limitations, the team acknowledged.

Information on the patient’s breast cancer stage and the dose of radiation was unavailable. Also the number of Alzheimer’s diagnoses may be underestimated.

In addition, as the study focused on patients with “operational” breast cancer, it may not represent the risk of Alzheimer’s among older patients, those who had “critical comorbidities” or patients with advanced stage disease, said researchers.

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“We were unable to evaluate the long -term increase in AD risk because our follow -up period was relatively short (maximum, 11 years),” they wrote.

“Additional studies with long -term observation periods are required to examine long -term associations between the AD risk and the duration of breast cancer survival.”

Maria C. Carrillo, doctor, head of sciences of the Alzheimer’s Association and medical affairs leading Chicago, said that this issue of research was explored in previous studies.

“There have been many published reports on cancer survivors’ observational study with a decrease in Alzheimer’s disease risk, but also some who found an increase in risk,” said Carrillo, who did not participate in this recent study, told Fox News Digital.

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The expert warns against the fact of “abrupt conclusions” based on this study.

“Previous investigations on the survival and treatment of cancer and the risk of Alzheimer’s, much that the authors of this article quoted, has produced mixed results, even contradictory,,” said Carrollio. “More research is needed, especially longer studies in more representative populations of study.”

The most interesting aspect of this study, Carrillo said, is the realization that radiation therapy was associated with 23% of Alzheimer’s risk reduction, while other cancer treatments did not show any reduction in risk.

This could be due to the capacity of radiation to reduce inflammation levels, the expert suggested.

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“Decreased inflammation in the body and brain can reduce the amyloid beta or slow amyloid beta production, delaying the appearance of the symptomatic Alzheimer’s,” he said. “It takes more research to see if it is, in fact, the case.”

About 7.2 million Americans, 65, and are currently living with Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Fox News Digital contacted researchers in the study to comment.