Brain Functional MRI in Older Women With Breast Cancer (Brain fMRI-BC)

This study will use advanced MRI techniques to characterize the changes that occur to the structure and functionality of the brain in older breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, and determine the relationship between the brain changes and severity of chemotherapy toxicity. Our results will be an early step towards identifying neuroimaging markers of aging, breast cancer and chemotherapy treatment, and will contribute to our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of cognitive changes and chemotherapy toxicity in vulnerable, older adults with cancer. Furthermore, the work will lay the foundation for future, larger scale clinical studies of cognitive changes and chemotherapy toxicity in the aging cancer population.

Inclusion Criteria: * 1\) Patients with stage I-III breast cancers who are to receive adjuvant chemotherapy; * 2\) Able to understand English (the functional MRI task paradigms and neurocognitive testing are not validated in languages other than English); * 3\) Able to provide informed consent; * 4\) Patients age ≥ 65 and of any performance status. Exclusion Criteria: * 1\) Patients with metastatic disease; * 2\) Patients with MRI exclusion criteria such as claustrophobia, cardiac pacemaker, and orbital metal implants.