Impact of prenatal exposure to cancer treatment during pregnancy and of chemotherapy for breast cancer on the brains: a multimodal MR imaging study

In the first part of this project we will analyse data from a longitudinal study where we followed 80 patients with breast cancer from diagnosis until a year after treatment, using MRI of the brains, neuropsychological testing and blood samples. After chemotherapy, many patients experience cognitive complaints. Moreover, using MRI, we previously showed that there are structural and functional changes in the brain. However, the link between the cognitive complaints and the MRI results remains unclear. Therefore, using a multimodal analysis, the PhD candidate will combine the different data gathered to better characterise and predict the effects of chemotherapy on the brain. In the second part of this project we will be responsible for the MRI data collection and analysis of a multimodal MRI study where we are investigating the brain development of children born after pregnancies complicated by cancer. While so far, we only observed limited consequences of cancer treatment during pregnancy on these children, specific types of chemotherapy, as well as the psychosocial impact of cancer during pregnancy and premature birth were indicated to have a potential large impact on the development of these children. Therefore, the goal of this project is to expand the current MR database and identify the impact of these different factors on the brain development of these children.