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

Abstract

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.