Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug;5(8):e1548.
doi: 10.1002/cnr2.1548. Epub 2021 Oct 12.

Motor performance after treatment of pilocytic astrocytoma in the posterior fossa in childhood

Ingela Kristiansen  1 , Gunilla E Frykberg  2 , Anette Höglund  1 , Annette Sondell  1 , Bo Strömberg  1 , Per Frisk  1
Affiliations

Motor performance after treatment of pilocytic astrocytoma in the posterior fossa in childhood

Ingela Kristiansen et al. Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Pilocytic astrocytoma is the most common brain tumour type in childhood located in the posterior fossa, and treated mainly with surgery. These tumours have low mortality, but knowledge concerning its long-term outcome is sparse.

Aims: The aim was to investigate if patients treated for pilocytic astrocytoma in the posterior fossa had motor complications, including balance, motor and process skills.

Methods and results: This descriptive single-centre study includes eight children and 12 adults, treated for pilocytic astrocytoma as children. Motor performance was investigated with Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition, and dynamic balance with the mini-balance evaluation systems test. Physiological cost index, six-minute walk test, hand grip strength and assessment of motor and process skills were also evaluated. Ten patients reported motor difficulties, mainly from the upper limbs. The motor performance test showed results within normal limits except for manual dexterity, which was significantly below mean (p = .008). In the dynamic balance test patients had significantly lower results compared with controls (p = .036). Physiological cost index, six-minute walk tests and hand grip strength showed results within normal limits. In the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, patients over 16 years had significantly lower results compared with test norms for motor activities of daily living (ADL) and 30% of all patients scored below the cut-off level for difficulties with motor skills.

Conclusions: Motor performance for patients treated for pilocytic astrocytoma in the posterior fossa in childhood is satisfactory but some patients display difficulties with balance, manual dexterity and ADL motor skills. Thus, it is important to identify those in need of motor follow-up and training.

Keywords: ADL; balance; childhood; motor performance; pilocytic astrocytoma; posterior fossa.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have stated explicitly that there are no conflicts of interest in connection with this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Lannering B, Sandstrom PE, Holm S, et al. Classification, incidence and survival analyses of children with CNS tumours diagnosed in Sweden 1984‐2005. Acta Paediatr. 2009;98(10):1620‐1627. - PubMed
    1. Roddy E, Mueller S. Late effects of treatment of pediatric central nervous system tumors. J Child Neurol. 2016;31(2):237‐254. - PubMed
    1. Mulhern RK, Merchant TE, Gajjar A, Reddick WE, Kun LE. Late neurocognitive sequelae in survivors of brain tumours in childhood. Lancet Oncol. 2004;5(7):399‐408. - PubMed
    1. Ehrstedt C, Kristiansen I, Ahlsten G, et al. Clinical characteristics and late effects in CNS tumours of childhood: do not forget long term follow‐up of the low grade tumours. Eur J Paediatr Neurol: EJPN: Off J Eur Paediatr Neurol Soc. 2016;20:580‐587. - PubMed
    1. Gupta NBA, Hass‐Kogan DA. Pediatric CNS Tumours. 3rd ed. Springer International Publishing; 2017.

Publication types