O’Shaughnessy, J.A., Vukelja, S.J., Holmes, F.A., Savin, M., Jones, M., Royall, D., . . . & Von Hoff, D. (2005). Feasibility of quantifying the effects of epoetin alpha therapy on cognitive function in women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Clinical Breast Cancer, 5(6), 439–446.
The study's primary aim was to evaluate the effects of erythropoietin (epoetin alfa) on cognitive function and mood in patients with breast cancer. Its secondary aim was to evaluate the effects of erythropoietin on fatigue and quality of life of patients with breast cancer.
At the beginning of 4 weeks of chemotherapy, patients were randomly assigned to receive 40,000 units of epoetin alfa subcutaneously once weekly or a placebo, as administered over 12 weeks.
The study took place at 13 sites in the United States.
The study utilized a longitudinal, exploratory, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design.
Although patients in the treatment arm had a greater improvement in executive function between baseline and after completion of the treatment phase, this difference was not significant. The mean change over time in executive function was similar between the two groups at the six month follow-up assessment.
The study was unable to demonstrate an effect of erythropoietin on executive cognitive functioning.