EGb761 in Maintaining Mental Clarity in Women Receiving Chemotherapy for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Newly diagnosed breast cancer
• •Planned standard doses of adjuvant chemotherapy with or without a taxane
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age
• •18 and over
• •Sex
• •Female
• •Menopausal status
• •Any status
• •Performance status
• •Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0-1
• •Life expectancy
• •At least 6 months
• •Hematopoietic
• •No bleeding diathesis
• •Hepatic
• •serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 1.5 times ULN
• •Renal
• •Creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN
• •Cardiovascular
• •No arterial vascular disease
• •Other
• •Able to complete questionnaires alone or with assistance
• •No diabetes
• •No dementia
• •No diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder within the past 5 years that would preclude study compliance
• •No other significant comorbidity
• •No known allergy to ginkgo biloba
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy
• •No concurrent stem cell transplantation
• •Chemotherapy
• •No concurrent high-dose chemotherapy
• •Other
• •More than 6 months since prior EGb761
• •No concurrent antithrombotic therapy (e.g., daily aspirin or anticoagulants)
• •* Anticoagulants used for central or peripheral line maintenance (i.e., warfarin 1 mg/day or heparin flushes) allowed
• •No concurrent dose-intensive regimens
• •No concurrent aspirin or aspirin-like medicines (e.g., indomethacin, ibuprofen, or some antihistamines or heparin or warfarin \[except as used above\])
• •No concurrent regimen expected to cause thrombocytopenia
• •No concurrent trazodone, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or thiazide diuretics (e.g., chlorothiazide, hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, or metolazone)