The Neuropsychology of Cancer and Oncology

Abstract

Reviews the book, The Neuropsychology of Cancer and Oncology edited by Chad A. Noggle, Raymond S. Dean, Thomas Tarter, Gary Johnson, and Rhonda Johnson (see record [rid]2012-32843-000[/rid]). The title of this book is puzzling at first, seeming to refer to redundant topics, but it takes an important place in the corpus by covering multiple bases. It covers the biological bases of cancer, which in some chapters helps the interested scientist or practitioner to develop greater insight into the pathophysiology that their work should be based on, and also covers the neuropsychological phenomena associated with the ontogeny of cancer, and the effects of cancer treatments. This is accomplished by the inclusion of a large proportion of specialists in medicine as well as neuropsychology. The book’s inclusion of the biological bases makes it a valuable text to have as reference, but its weakness is also in the inconsistency in addressing these problems. This book provides a primer for neuropsychologists in oncology to have a basic understanding of the histologies of cancers and treatment armamentaria, though this knowledge base is constantly changing. The mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced changes in cognition are discussed in all the medical chapters in regard to the chemotherapies that are specific to each disease. It is critical for successful neuropsychological research and practice with cancer patients to understand how cancer, collateral clinical factors, and treatments together cause cognitive deficits. For example, an important hypothesis recurs among chapters on different cancers about the risk of cognitive injury from platinum-based chemotherapy, with apparent reversal of injury symptoms when treatment ends. The chapters do not provide the answers, but pose some of the problems of investigating chemotherapy effects on cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)