Long-term cognitive dysfunction after radiation therapy for primary brain tumors

• DOI: 10.1080/0284186x.2018.1557786
• Publication Date: 2019-02-13T10:30:41Z
• Authors: Lene Haldbo-Classen; Ali Amidi; Lisa M. Wu; Slavka Lukacova; Gorm von Oettingen; Hanne Gottrup; Robert Zachariae; Morten Høyer
• Keywords: Brain tumor; Verbal fluency test; Neuropsychological Assessment

Background: The extent of radiation therapy (RT)-induced changes in cognitive function is unknown. RT with protons instead photons spares the healthy brain tissue more and believed to reduce risk dysfunction. There modest knowledge on which parts we need spare, prevent To uncover domains most affected, compared functioning tumor patients treated neurosurgery alone.Methods: A cross-sectional study assessing 110 a primary grades I–III or medulloblastoma (grade IV) at Aarhus University Hospital (AUH), Denmark between 2006 2016. Two cohorts were established: cohort 81 who had received followed by (RT+), 29 only (RT–). underwent questionnaires neuropsychological assessment standardized tests.Results: Mean age was 53.5 years an average time since diagnosis 7.3 years. Compared normative data, lower scores observed for entire group concerning verbal learning memory (p < .001), attention working processing speed executive .001). RT– patients, + scored = .04) .05) higher impairment frequency fluency .02) 16% exceeding 1.5 SD below data.Conclusions: Our results indicate that treatment, including RT, may have negative long-term impact function, especially function.