P05.53 Long-term cognitive function after radiation therapy for primary brain tumours grade I-III
Year: 2018
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: After neurosurgery, radiotherapy (RT) is the main treatment for many brain tumours. Irradiation, however, may have detrimental effects on cognitive functions. So far, most studies investigating radiation-induced cognitive impairments have used healthy participants as comparison. This approach, however, does not account for tumour-related impairments. In the present cross-sectional study, we compared cognitive functioning in patients with grade I-III brain tumours who received surgical resection with and without RT. Adult patients with specified grade I-III brain tumours treated at Aarhus University Hospital between 2006–2016 underwent neuropsychological assessment. Standardized tests included Trail making Test (TMT); Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT); Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) - Animals and S; Coding and Digit Span from WAIS-IV; Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT); Stroop Test. Test outcomes were converted to z-scores using adjusted normative data and analyzed with one-sample and independent sample t-tests. Test-specific and overall cognitive impairment (OCI) frequencies were determined using ICCTF criteria, and between-group differences were tested with Fisher’s exact test. 110 participants were recruited at the time of analysis. 81 had received RT (RT+), while 29 had not (RT-). Mean age was 53,6 years with an average time since diagnosis of 7.8 years. Compared with normative data, lower average scores were observed for the entire group on HVLT-total (p<0.001), HVLT-delayed (p<0.001), PASAT (p<0.001), Coding (p = 0.01) and Stroop (p<0.001). Further indication of lower scores was noted for TMT-B (p=0.05). General OCI frequency was 37.9%. Compared with RT-, RT+ scored lower on Coding (p=0.032), and Stroop (ps< 0.05) with indication of lower scores on COWAT-Animals (p=0.07). Higher impairment frequency was observed in RT+ (16%) on COWAT-Animals (p=0.02). Long-term cognitive impairment was evident in the majority of patients treated for brain tumours. Our results indicate that radiotherapy may have additional detrimental effects on cognitive functions.
Source: Neuro-Oncology
Institutions: Aarhus University Hospital, Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2891894428