{"entity":{"id":"idea-acc-cognitive-rehabilitation-after-chemotherapy","kind":"idea","name":"Trials of structured cognitive rehabilitation for cancer-related cognitive impairment","aka":[],"tldr":"A substantial minority of survivors report foggy thinking and memory problems for years after chemotherapy, limiting work and daily life, and no funded service exists for it. Small trials of computerised cognitive training, strategy training and exercise show benefit; a definitive multi-arm trial with a functional endpoint would establish or refute a treatable condition.","summary":"Cancer-related cognitive impairment affects a substantial minority of survivors and limits work and daily function. Small trials of computerised cognitive training, cognitive-behavioural strategy training, and exercise show benefit on self-reported and some objective measures, but there is no standard of care and no funded service. A definitive multi-arm trial comparing the leading approaches, with a functional primary endpoint, would establish or refute a treatable condition.","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"Bottleneck evidence (Survivorship and late effects are neglected): NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship statistics","url":"https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/ocs/statistics"}],"tags":[],"related":["idea-exercise-as-adjuvant"],"cancers":[],"sections":["rejuvenation"],"technologies":["exercise-oncology"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-survivorship","b-toxicity-qol"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"hypothesis":"At least one structured cognitive rehabilitation approach will produce a clinically meaningful improvement in perceived cognitive function and work ability at six months compared with attention control.","rationale":"Rehabilitation improves outcomes after stroke and brain injury with similar mechanisms of compensation and neuroplasticity; survivors are motivated and the intervention is low risk.","test":"A four-arm randomised trial (computerised training, strategy training, exercise, attention control) in 800 survivors with a validated perceived-cognition instrument as primary endpoint.","maturity":"early-clinical","actor":"research","cost":"medium","horizonYears":4},"route":"/ideas/idea-acc-cognitive-rehabilitation-after-chemotherapy/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-exercise-as-adjuvant","kind":"idea","name":"Structured exercise prescribed like a drug in all curative-intent cancer care","route":"/ideas/idea-exercise-as-adjuvant/"}],"section":[{"id":"rejuvenation","kind":"section","name":"Recovery & Rejuvenation","route":"/fronts/rejuvenation/"}],"technology":[{"id":"rejuv-rehab-cancer-rehabilitation","kind":"technology","name":"Cancer rehabilitation: the discipline that puts function back","route":"/technologies/rejuv-rehab-cancer-rehabilitation/"},{"id":"exercise-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Exercise & lifestyle oncology","route":"/technologies/exercise-oncology/"},{"id":"cognitive-impairment-after-cancer-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Thinking and memory after cancer treatment: what is measurable, and what helps","route":"/technologies/cognitive-impairment-after-cancer-treatment/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"rejuv-agenda-nothing-restores-cognition","kind":"bottleneck","name":"No treatment restores the thinking that cancer treatment takes","route":"/bottlenecks/rejuv-agenda-nothing-restores-cognition/"},{"id":"b-survivorship","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Survivorship and late effects are neglected","route":"/bottlenecks/b-survivorship/"},{"id":"b-toxicity-qol","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued","route":"/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/"}]}}