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Memory deficits in long-term survivors of childhood brain tumors may primarily reflect general cognitive dysfunctions.

Reimers TS, Mortensen EL, Schmiegelow K

Clinic of Psychology, Play Therapy and Social Work, The Juliane Marie Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the impact of potential predictors on memory performance in survivors of childhood brain tumors and to examine whether deficits in memory after radiotherapy (RT) should be considered part of a more global mental dysfunction. PROCEDURE: We studied 126 patients with brain tumors diagnosed before the age of 15 years and treated January 1970 through February 1997 in Eastern Denmark. Sixty-nine of the 126 patients had received RT. In addition to working memory and long-term memory (LTM), general intelligence (IQ) was assessed. RESULTS: The mean test scores in nearly all memory tests were lower than expected from available norms. In multiple linear regression, treatment with RT, hemisphere tumor location, and hydrocephalus treated with a shunt at the time of diagnosis were found to be significant risk factors for memory deficits. When IQ was included as a covariate, RT did not significantly predict memory performance, while shunt and tumor location remained significant for several but not all tests. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that in patients treated with RT, memory deficits primarily reflect a general cognitive dysfunction, and it is likely that these intelligence deficits may compromise the chances of success of special memory training. In contrast, memory deficits in non-irradiated patients may to some degree reflect specific cognitive dysfunctions being most pronounced for patients treated with a shunt and for patients with hemispheric tumors.

Published 12 December 2006 in Pediatr Blood Cancer, 48(2): 205-12.
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