Traumatic symptomatology and cognitive functioning in women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy: An exploratory study

A B S T R A C T Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between traumatic symptomatology and impairments on cognitive functioning, in a sample of women with breast cancer, in treatment with chemotherapy. Methods: Participants were 20 women diagnosed with breast cancer (Mage = 48.40; SD = 8.98). In this exploratory cross-sectional study, a battery of neuropsychological tests was used to evaluate the participants’ cognitive functioning, as well as a measure for traumatic symptomatology. Results: The results showed that 35% of the participants experienced traumatic symptomatology at clinically significant levels (cut-off > 35.5). Furthermore, significant correlations (p 35,5). Ademas, se encontraron correlaciones significativas (p 35.5). Foram encontradas varias correlacoes significativas entre esta sintomatologia traumatica e o funcionamento executivo, sobretudo em termos de flexibilidade cognitiva. Conclusoes: Apesar da sua natureza exploratoria, os resultados deste estudo mostram a importância de avaliar a sintomatologia traumatica nas mulheres com cancro da mama e a necessidade de desenvolver intervencoes que trabalharem estes sintomas traumaticos de forma a prevenir o desenvolvimento de defices cognitivos. Palavras-chave: cancro da mama; sintomatologia traumatica; funcionamento cognitivo; quimioterapia; estudo transversal.