Please note: This trial has finished recruiting and is not accepting new participants.

Research Center: University of Texas at Austin
Location: Health Discovery Building, 1601 TRINITY ST BLDG B, AUSTIN, TX 78712
Lead Researcher: Dr. Shelli Kesler
IRB: This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Texas at Austin Institutional Review Board

Did you know that 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the United States? With those statistics, chances are, you probably know at least one person who has been personally affected by breast cancer. If you have ever wanted to help researchers better understand cancer, then now is your chance.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are trying to validate a tool that could potentially be used to identify which patients are at higher risk of brain and cognitive problems that can occur following the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. This could have a major impact on patient and clinician decision-making with respect to predicted chemotherapy-related neurotoxicity. However, they need information from healthy women with no history of cancer to validate their prediction tool. So, if you are a healthy woman, living in Texas, and would like to do your part in helping researchers understand breast cancer better, then why not consider signing up for this study?

• Participants will be compensated up to $150 in e-cards for participating in this study. Compensation of $75 will be provided per study visit.
• Participants will be contributing valuable information that may benefit those with breast cancer in the future.
• Participants will be helping to advance medical research.

• If you decide to participate in the study and later feel that you no longer wish to be part of it, you can withdraw at any time.
• Any information that you provide will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law.
• Qualified health professionals will monitor your health as it relates to the study.

• Healthy women aged between 35 and 68
• Must be able to read and speak English or Spanish
• Must not be pregnant or breastfeeding
• Must be able and willing to undergo a magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan
• Must not have problems with claustrophobia, currently have any metal orthodontics (braces, retainers, or any metal in the mouth besides fillings), or currently have any medical or metal implants (metal plates for broken bones, staples, corneal implants, hair implants, pacemaker, mediport, stent, shunt, picc line, etc.)
• Must be able to attend 2 study visits at the research site over approximately 14 months

The study team will explain the research in its entirety but some details are:

• Participation will include completing a series of online tests that measure thinking, memory, attention, and verbal skills.
• Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires that ask them to rate their sleep, mood, distress, energy levels, medical history, and strategies they use to complete cognitive tasks.
• Participants will undergo an MRI scan of their brain. MRI uses magnetic fields to take pictures of the brain’s structure and function. A functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) scan of their brain will also be done during this time. fNIRS uses light waves to measure the brain’s function. There are no injections, radiation, or harmful effects involved in MRI or fNIRS.

University of Texas at Austin
Like the state it calls home, The University of Texas at Austin is a bold, ambitious leader supporting some 52,000 diverse students, 3,000 teaching faculty, and top national programs across 18 colleges and schools. As Texas’ leading research university, UT attracts more than $650 million annually for discovery. Amid the backdrop of Austin, Texas, a city recognized for its creative and entrepreneurial spirit, the university provides a place to explore countless opportunities for tomorrow’s artists, scientists, athletes, doctors, entrepreneurs, and engineers.

Please note:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers would like to assure the participants that ensuring their and the study staff’s safety is of utmost importance.