A new study suggests that surviving breast cancer may slightly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that women treated for breast cancer had an 8% lower risk of Alzheimer’s within five years of their diagnosis compared to women without cancer.
Led by a team at Seoul National University College of Medicine, the study analysed health data from over 70,000 breast cancer patients and compared them to 1.8 lakh cancer-free women. Over an average follow-up period of 7.3 years, the researchers found that women aged 65 and older and those who had received radiation therapy had the most significant reduction in Alzheimer’s risk.
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Researchers suspect radiation’s anti-inflammatory effects on the brain may play a role. Interestingly, women who underwent radiation saw a 23% reduction in Alzheimer’s risk, compared to no significant benefit from other cancer treatments.
These findings run counter to concerns about “chemobrain, the cognitive difficulties some cancer patients report during and after treatment. This study suggests that while memory lapses and difficulty concentrating are common among breast cancer survivors, they may not necessarily correlate with the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
“The risk of Alzheimer’s dementia is a crucial aspect of overall well-being among breast cancer survivors,” the study authors noted. “Our findings suggest that this treatment does not directly lead to Alzheimer’s dementia.”
Radiation therapy, in particular, has previously been shown to reduce inflammation in the brain, one potential explanation for the observed benefit.
For every 1,000 women followed for a year, the data predicted 2.45 cases of Alzheimer’s among breast cancer survivors, compared to 2.63 cases in cancer-free women. While small, this reduction adds context to broader efforts aimed at understanding and preventing age-related cognitive decline.
Breast cancer continues to be the most common cancer among women globally, but survival rates have improved significantly in recent decades.
