Comparison of the state of brain metabolism and psycho emotional disorders in patients with postmastectomy syndrome

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The most common consequence of radical treatment of breast cancer is postmastectomy syndrome a complex of changes in the lymphocirculatory system, central and peripheral nervous system, skeletal and muscular apparatus, that significantly reduce the quality of life and working capacity of women. In recent years, special attention has been paid to the study of psycho emotional disorders in this group of patients. A promising method for preclinical diagnosis of anxiety and depressive disorders in patients with postmastectomy syndrome may be positron emission computed tomography with fluorine-18 labeled glucose 2(18F)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose, which makes it possible to deduce typical patterns of changes in glucose metabolism in cerebral structures in various depressive and anxiety states.
 AIM: The purpose of this study is to study the relationship between brain metabolism and psycho emotional status in patients with postmastectomy syndrome.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: In our work, the sample consisted of 28 patients who underwent radical treatment for breast cancer, who underwent an assessment of the psycho-emotional state using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Zung scales for self-assessment of depression. Positron emission tomography was also performed with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose.
 RESULTS: The study revealed that 71% of patients showed an increased level of anxiety, 64% showed signs of depression. Positron emission tomography data revealed the following areas of hypometabolism in patients with anxiety-depressive disorders: parietal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, precuneus, superior temporal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex.
 CONCLUSION: Thus, typical zones of changes in glucose metabolism in patients with psycho emotional disorders have been identified, which makes it possible to improve the accuracy of diagnosing these conditions, as well as to develop the most effective ways to prevent and treat them.