Aging Studies Faculty Receive R03 Grant from the National Cancer Institute

Aging Studies Faculty Receive R03 Grant from the National Cancer Institute

Stacey Scott, PhD, and Brent Small, PhD, with colleagues Drs. Paul Jacobsen, Heather Jim, and Susan Minton from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, received a National Cancer Institute R03 grant to study daily cognitive function among breast cancer survivors. Cognitive impairment is one of the most common Quality of Life (QOL) complaints among breast cancer survivors; as many as 70% report memory loss and difficulty concentrating, however, objective tests of cognitive function typically show only 15% - 25% of survivors are impaired based on normative criteria. To address the various issues that may contribute to this discrepancy, data will be collected from breast cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy. Cognitive functioning will be assessed in these individuals using self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological instruments as well as with daily diary reports of memory failures, and cognitive tasks administered as 'brain games' on smartphones across a 14-day period. Innovations in mobile data collection allow for real-time capture of objective cognitive performance and subjective cognitive complaints.

This two-year R03 will leverage the foundational work from the team's American Cancer Society-Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG) from Moffitt awarded early this year and equipment support from the College of Behavioral Community Sciences to purchase study smartphones.