NCT04673305

Brief Summary

BACKGROUND Neurocognitive symptoms have a high prevalence in cancer patients, resulting in a significant impact on daily life and tolerance to therapy. It's estimated that about 30% of cancer patients present a cognitive impairment before treatment, about 75% present this cognitive impairment during the treatment, and about 35% continue to present cognitive difficulties in the following months/years. There is growing evidence that cognitive symptoms have a biological mechanism linked to the activation of immunological cytokines that exert important effects on the brain functions. For example, interferon α is known to increase the levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α, and this increase is associated with memory deficits, executive function and mood alterations. A neurotoxic action induced by cytokines has been demonstrated both in the early stages of the tumor and after chemotherapy. Several imaging studies suggest that the cognitive impairment pattern in cancer patients, during the treatment and in remission, is related to structural and functional brain changes. Longitudinal studies in women with breast cancer treated with chemoterapy have shown a reduction in the volume of cerebral gray matter, mainly in the bilateral frontal cortex and hippocampus. In parallel, diffusion tensor imaging studies have shown an alteration of the integrity of the frontal, parietal and occipital cerebral white matter, demyelination and axonal degeneration processes. Finally, functional magnetic resonance studies in cancer patients have shown alterations in the connectivity of the default mode network compared to control subjects. Studies carried out to date, show a prevalent impairment of executive functions and working memory. Cognitive impairment has been studied mainly as a possible adverse effect in women treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer, while there are few studies in the literature on patients with haematological malignancies. STUDY DESIGN The study is targeted to patients ages ≥ 70 years, whith haematological malignancy, who need to start a treatment within 3 months. Once the eligibility criteria have been assessed, the hematologist proposes the enrollment in the study. Once the patient's informed consent has been acquired, a neurological examination is carried out, functional tests required by the protocol are administered. The patient begins, as per clinical practice, the treatment provided for his/her haematological malignancy. Test's evaluation is repeated at 6 months and 12 months after the enrollment. In conjunction with neurological tests, will be performed a venipuncture as per clinical practice, and a blood sample is taken to measure the cytokines involved in inflammatory processes. It is expected that a patient can perform up to a maximum of 3 blood samples for the biological study. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS This is a non-pharmacological, prospective, uncontrolled, open-label single-center interventional pilot study, aimed to describ the progress of cognitive function under treatment for haematological disease. Due to the pilot and exploratory nature of the study and the substantial absence of a specific literature relating to the elderly onco-haematological patient, it is not believed that the conditions exist to be able to formally define the size of the sample. The sample size is arbitrarily fixed at 60 patients. The observation time will be 12 months from enrollment.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2021

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 25, 2020

Completed
22 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

December 17, 2020

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 1, 2021

Completed
2 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 1, 2023

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 1, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

December 17, 2020

Status Verified

December 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

2 years

First QC Date

November 25, 2020

Last Update Submit

December 14, 2020

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Evaluation of the score trend obtained with the Mini-mental test (MMSE)

    MMSE score at 12 months will be compared with the MMSE at enrollment.

    12 months from the enrollment

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Activities of daily living (ADL) score

    12 months from the enrollment

  • Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) score

    12 months from the enrollment

  • Charlson comorbidity index

    12 months from the enrollment

  • CDT (clock drawing test)

    12 months from the enrollment

  • FAB (frontal assessment battery)

    12 months from the enrollment

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (6)

  • Serum IL-1 levels (pg/ml)

    12 months from the enrollment

  • Serum IL-2 levels (pg/ml)

    12 months from the enrollment

  • Serum IL-6 levels (pg/ml)

    12 months from the enrollment

  • +3 more other outcomes

Study Arms (1)

Arm 1

EXPERIMENTAL

patients ≥ 70 years, whith haematological malignancy, who need to start a treatment within 3 months

Other: Cognitive Assessment, Cytokine dosage

Interventions

Once the patient's informed consent has been acquired, a neurological examination is carried out, with functional tests required by the protocol. The patient carries out, as per clinical practice, the treatment provided for the cure of his disease. The evaluation of the tests is repeated at 6 months and 12 months after enrollment in the study. In conjunction with a venipuncture performed for the exams required by clinical management, a blood sample is taken to measure the cytokines involved in inflammatory processes.

Arm 1

Eligibility Criteria

Age70 Years - 90 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsOlder Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Ages ≥ 70 years;
  • Signed Informed Consent Form;
  • Haematological malignancy diagnosis that requires whithin three months a treatment.

You may not qualify if:

  • Inability (ex. severe visual and/or hearing impairments, lack of caregivers) to carry out the tests required by the study;
  • Comorbidity or condition that, in the investigator's opinion, may compromise the safe execution of the tests.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

ASST SANTI PAOLO CARLO - SAN CARLO BORROMEO HOSPITAL - SSd. Onco - Haematology and SC Neurology

Milan, 20153, Italy

Location

Related Publications (11)

  • Meyers CA, Albitar M, Estey E. Cognitive impairment, fatigue, and cytokine levels in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. Cancer. 2005 Aug 15;104(4):788-93. doi: 10.1002/cncr.21234.

    PMID: 15973668BACKGROUND
  • Pendergrass JC, Targum SD, Harrison JE. Cognitive Impairment Associated with Cancer: A Brief Review. Innov Clin Neurosci. 2018 Feb 1;15(1-2):36-44.

    PMID: 29497579BACKGROUND
  • Ahles TA, Saykin AJ. Candidate mechanisms for chemotherapy-induced cognitive changes. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007 Mar;7(3):192-201. doi: 10.1038/nrc2073.

    PMID: 17318212BACKGROUND
  • Ahles TA, Root JC, Ryan EL. Cancer- and cancer treatment-associated cognitive change: an update on the state of the science. J Clin Oncol. 2012 Oct 20;30(30):3675-86. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2012.43.0116. Epub 2012 Sep 24.

    PMID: 23008308BACKGROUND
  • Deprez S, Amant F, Smeets A, Peeters R, Leemans A, Van Hecke W, Verhoeven JS, Christiaens MR, Vandenberghe J, Vandenbulcke M, Sunaert S. Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced structural changes in cerebral white matter and its correlation with impaired cognitive functioning. J Clin Oncol. 2012 Jan 20;30(3):274-81. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2011.36.8571. Epub 2011 Dec 19.

    PMID: 22184379BACKGROUND
  • Deprez S, Billiet T, Sunaert S, Leemans A. Diffusion tensor MRI of chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment in non-CNS cancer patients: a review. Brain Imaging Behav. 2013 Dec;7(4):409-35. doi: 10.1007/s11682-012-9220-1.

    PMID: 23329357BACKGROUND
  • Simo M, Rifa-Ros X, Rodriguez-Fornells A, Bruna J. Chemobrain: a systematic review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 Sep;37(8):1311-21. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.04.015. Epub 2013 May 6.

    PMID: 23660455BACKGROUND
  • McDonald BC, Conroy SK, Ahles TA, West JD, Saykin AJ. Gray matter reduction associated with systemic chemotherapy for breast cancer: a prospective MRI study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010 Oct;123(3):819-28. doi: 10.1007/s10549-010-1088-4. Epub 2010 Aug 6.

    PMID: 20690040BACKGROUND
  • Hshieh TT, Jung WF, Grande LJ, Chen J, Stone RM, Soiffer RJ, Driver JA, Abel GA. Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment and Association With Survival Among Older Patients With Hematologic Cancers. JAMA Oncol. 2018 May 1;4(5):686-693. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.5674.

    PMID: 29494732BACKGROUND
  • Allegra A, Innao V, Basile G, Pugliese M, Allegra AG, Pulvirenti N, Musolino C. Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment in hematological patients: current understanding of chemobrain in hematology. Expert Rev Hematol. 2020 Apr;13(4):393-404. doi: 10.1080/17474086.2020.1738213. Epub 2020 Mar 10.

    PMID: 32129131BACKGROUND
  • Bradshaw M, Wefel J. The neuropsychology of oncology. In: Parsons M, Hammeke T (eds). Clinical Neuropsychology: A pocket handbook for assessment, Third edition. Washington DC: American Psychological Association; 2014:313-337

    BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cognitive DysfunctionHematologic Neoplasms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cognition DisordersNeurocognitive DisordersMental DisordersNeoplasms by SiteNeoplasmsHematologic DiseasesHemic and Lymphatic Diseases

Study Officials

  • Vittorio Montefusco, MD

    ASST SANTI PAOLO CARLO - SAN CARLO BORROMEO HOSPITAL

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  • Fabio Frediani, MD

    ASST SANTI PAOLO CARLO - SAN CARLO BORROMEO HOSPITAL

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Medical Director Ssd of Oncohaematology

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 25, 2020

First Posted

December 17, 2020

Study Start

March 1, 2021

Primary Completion

March 1, 2023

Study Completion

September 1, 2023

Last Updated

December 17, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-12

Locations