ArticleBrain, behavior, & immunity - health2023
Associations of inflammation with neuropsychological symptom cluster in patients with Head and neck cancer: A longitudinal study.
Article in Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Predicting Post-Radiotherapy Epigenetic Age Acceleration From Pre-Treatment Data Using a Machine Learning Framework in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Probiotics for Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Cancer: A Systematic Review of Animal and Human Studies with Mechanistic Insights.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Painful Realities: Navigating the Complexities of Head and Neck Cancer Pain.Oral diseases · 2025Review
- Cancer neuroscience in head and neck: interactions, modulation, and therapeutic strategies.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Quality-of-life scale machine learning approach to predict immunotherapy response in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Temporal relationship between symptom cluster and quality of life in rectal cancer patients after laparoscopic anus-preserving surgery.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Wound healing: insights into autoimmunity, ageing, and cancer ecosystems through inflammation and IL-6 modulation.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Associations of differentially expressed genes with psychoneurological symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer: A longitudinal study.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2023Article
- Temporal biobehavioral pathways from perceived stress to symptom burden in patients with cancer: A three-wave longitudinal cross-lagged panel network analysis to inform supportive care.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
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10 authors.
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Abstract
Purpose: Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients may experience multiple co-occurring neuropsychological symptoms (NPS) cluster, including fatigue, depression, pain, sleep disturbance, and cognitive impairment. While inflammation has been attributed as a key mechanism for some of these symptoms, its association with the NPS as a cluster of symptoms is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the association between peripheral inflammation and NPS cluster among HNC patients over cancer treatment (radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy). Methods: HNC patients were recruited and followed at pre-treatment, end of treatment, three months and one-year post-treatment. Plasma inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-2 (sTNFR2), interleukin-1 beta (IL1-β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) and patient-reported NPS cluster were collected at the 4 time points. Associations between inflammatory markers and the NPS cluster were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models and generalized estimating equations (GEE) models controlling covariates. Results: 147 HNC patients were eligible for analysis. 56% of the patients received chemoradiotherapy as treatment. The highest NPS cluster score was reported at the end of treatment, which gradually decreased over time. An increase in inflammatory markers including CRP, sTNFR2, IL-6 and IL-1RA was associated with higher continuous NPS cluster scores (p<0.001, p = 0.003, p<0.001, p<0.001; respectively). GEE further confirmed that patients with at least two moderate symptoms had elevated sTNFR2, IL-6, and IL-1RA (p = 0.017, p = 0.038, p = 0.008; respectively). Notably, this positive association between NPS cluster and inflammatory markers was still significant at one-year post-treatment for CRP (p = 0.001), sTNFR2 (p = 0.006), and IL-1RA (p = 0.043). Conclusions: Most HNC patients experienced NPS clusters over time, especially immediately after the end of treatment. Elevated inflammation, as represented by inflammatory markers, was strongly associated with worse NPS cluster over time; this trend was also notable at one-year post-treatment. Our findings suggest that peripheral inflammation plays a pivotal role in the NPS cluster over cancer treatment, including long-term follow-ups. Interventions on reducing peripheral inflammation may contribute to alleviating the NPS cluster in cancer patients.
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