Cognitive sequelae of brain tumor treatment

Current Opinion in Neurology

Volumn 18, Issue 6, 2005, Pages 662-666

  Byrne, Thomas N ^a,b,c  

^a HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL   (United States)

^b MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^c NONE   (United States)

Author keywords

Cranial irradiation; Neurocognitive; Neurogenesis; Primary CNS lymphoma

Indexed keywords

ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENT; ERYTHROPOIETIN; INDOMETACIN; NONSTEROID ANTIINFLAMMATORY AGENT;

BRAIN LYMPHOMA; BRAIN TUMOR; CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY; CANCER RADIOTHERAPY; CANCER THERAPY; CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM; CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM TUMOR; COGNITION; ENCEPHALITIS; HUMAN; HYPOPHYSIS TUMOR; IRRADIATION; LUNG CANCER; NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT; NEUROPROTECTION; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST; NEUROTOXICITY; NONHUMAN; PARANASAL SINUS CANCER; QUALITY OF LIFE; REVIEW; STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE;

EID: 27944507295     PISSN: 13507540     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/01.wco.0000191511.52745.99     Document Type: Review

References (45)

1. Hall P, Adami HO, Trichopoulos D, et al. Effect of low doses of ionising radiation in infancy on cognitive function in adulthood: Swedish population based cohort study. BMJ 2004; 328:19. Exposure to low dose radiation in infancy for cutaneous hemangioma was found to be associated with cognitive impairment in adulthood in this population-based study. Furthermore, there was a dose-response relationship found for logical reasoning and learning impairment but not spatial recognition.
2. Spiegler BJ, Bouffet E, Greenberg ML, et al. Change in neurocognitive functioning after treatment with cranial radiation in childhood. J Clin Oncol 2004; 22:706-713. Survivors of posterior fossa tumors treated with cranial irradiation underwent neuropsychological testing. Declines in visual memory, verbal fluency and executive function were found. Verbal memory and receptive vocabulary were not affected.
3. Moretti R, Torre P, Antonello RM, et al. Neuropsychological evaluation of late-onset post-radiotherapy encephalopathy: a comparison with vascular dementia. J Neurol Sci 2005; 229-230:195-200. Patients who had received cranial irradiation and those who had had subcortical strokes underwent cognitive testing. The patterns of deficits were similar in several domains in the two groups, namely, frontal lobe functions.
4. Taphoorn MJ, Klein M. Cognitive deficits in adult patients with brain tumours. Lancet Neurol 2004; 3:159-168. This comprehensive review article provides critical analysis of existing literature of the cognitive deficits in brain tumor patients. Although whole brain radiotherapy can cause significant neurotoxicity, the authors conclude that focal radiotherapy is not the main reason for cognitive decline in glioma patients.
5. Sarkissian V. The sequelae of cranial irradiation on human cognition. Neurosci Lett 2005; 382:118-123. Factors such as age, sex and chemotherapy affect the risk of radiation-induced cognitive impairment. This article grades those risks.
6. O'Neill BP. Neurocognitive outcomes in primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL). Neurology 2004; 62:532-533. This editorial places in context three articles of the treatment-related neurotoxicity in the same issue of Neurology.
7. Abayomi OK. Pathogenesis of cognitive decline following therapeutic irradiation for head and neck tumors. Acta Oncol 2002; 41:346-351.
8. Nordal RA, Nagy A, Pintilie M, Wong CS. Hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 target genes in central nervous system radiation injury: a role for vascular endothelial growth factor. Clin Cancer Res 2004; 10:3342-3353.
9. Nordal RA, Wong CS. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and blood-spinal cord barrier disruption in central nervous system radiation injury. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2004; 63:474-483.
10. Armstrong CL, Gyato K, Awadalla AW, et al. A critical review of the clinical effects of therapeutic irradiation damage to the brain: the roots of controversy. Neuropsychol Rev 2004; 14:65-86. The cognitive effects of cranial irradiation are critically reviewed comparing risk factors such as age, volume of brain irradiated, premorbid conditions, region of brain irradiated and dose. The authors offer observations and hypotheses which they suggest could be informative in the treatment decision process.
11. Eriksson PS, Perfilieva E, Bjork-Eriksson T, et al. Neurogenesis in the adult human hippocampus. Nat Med 1998; 4:1313-1317.
12. Monje ML, Palmer T. Radiation injury and neurogenesis. Curr Opin Neurol 2003; 16:129-134.
13. Rola R, Otsuka S, Obenaus A, et al. Indicators of hippocampal neurogenesis are altered by 56Fe-particle irradiation in a dose-dependent manner. Radiat Res 2004; 162:442-446.
14. Raber J, Rola R, LeFevour A, et al. Radiation-induced cognitive impairments are associated with changes in indicators of hippocampal neurogenesis. Radiat Res 2004; 162:39-47. Two-month-old mice received hippocampus/cortex irradiation (10 Gy) and were behaviorally tested 3 months later. Irradiated mice showed hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory impairments. These impairments were associated with decreased proliferation of cells and immature neurons on the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. The authors conclude that reduction in neurogenesis plays a contributory role in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced cognitive impairments.
15. Kempermann G, Wiskott L, Gage FH. Functional significance of adult neurogenesis. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2004; 14:186-191. This article critically reviews the functional significance of neurogenesis in the adult. They conclude that there is sufficient evidence that such new neurons can function and suggest that they contribute to cognition.
16. Monje ML, Toda H, Palmer TD. Inflammatory blockade restores adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Science 2003; 302:1760-1765.
17. Garcia A, Steiner B, Kronenberg G, et al. Age-dependent expression of glucocorticoid- and mineralocorticoid receptors on neural precursor cell populations in the adult murine hippocampus. Aging Cell 2004; 3:363-371. The authors report that the strong negative regulatory effect which corticosteroids have on adult hippocampus may be mediated by both glucorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors. These receptors appear to have different levels of expression at different ages.
18. Yeh TF, Lin YJ, Lin HC, et al. Outcomes at school age after postnatal dexamethasone therapy for lung disease of prematurity. N Engl J Med 2004; 350:1304-1313. Authors conclude that the use of early postnatal dexamethasone therapy leads to substantial adverse effects on neuromotor and cognitive function at school age. This article adds to the growing literature on the adverse effects of corticosteroids on neurological function which may be mediated, in part, by reduction in neurogenesis.
19. Liu H, Kaur J, Dashtipour K, et al. Suppression of hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with developmental stage, number of perinatal seizure episodes, and glucocorticosteroid level. Exp Neurol 2003; 184:196-213.
20. Alfonso J, Aguero F, Sanchez DO, et al. Gene expression analysis in the hippocampal formation of tree shrews chronically treated with Cortisol. J Neurosci Res 2004; 78:702-710.
21. Alfonso J, Pollevick GD, Van Der Hart MG, et al. Identification of genes regulated by chronic psychosocial stress and antidepressant treatment in the hippocampus. Eur J Neurosci 2004; 19:659-666.
22. Wefel JS, Lenzi R, Theriault RL, et al. The cognitive sequelae of standard-dose adjuvant chemotherapy in women with breast carcinoma: results of a prospective, randomized, longitudinal trial. Cancer 2004; 100:2292-2299. Longitudinal report of an association of cognitive impairment and chemotherapy in a group of women treated for nonmetastatic breast cancer. About half of the affected patients improved at the long-term post-chemotherapy time point.
23. Castellon SA, Ganz PA, Bower JE, et al. Neurocognitive performance in breast cancer survivors exposed to adjuvant chemotherapy and tamoxifen. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2004; 26:955-969.
24. Falleti MG, Sanfilippo A, Maruff P, et al. The nature and severity of cognitive impairment associated with adjuvant chemotherapy in women with breast cancer: A meta-analysis of the current literature. Brain Cogn 2005 Jun 20 [Epub ahead of print].
25. Correa DD, DeAngelis LM, Shi W, et al. Cognitive functions in survivors of primary central nervous system lymphoma. Neurology 2004; 62:548-555. Primary CNS lymphoma survivors, without evidence of disease on imaging, showed significantly more cognitive dysfunction if they were treated with whole brain radiotherapy plus or minus methotrexate-based chemotherapy rather than methotrexate-based chemotherapy alone.
26. Harder H, Holtel H, Bromberg JE, et al. Cognitive status and quality of life after treatment for primary CNS lymphoma. Neurology 2004; 62:544-547. Nineteen patients with primary CNS lymphoma in remission, average age 44 years, treated with whole brain radiotherapy and methotrexate-based chemotherapy underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment. Despite their relatively young age, they were found to have significant cognitive impairment and only 42% resumed work.
27. Lai R, Abrey LE, Rosenblum MK, DeAngelis LM. Treatment-induced leukoencephalopathy in primary CNS lymphoma: a clinical and autopsy study. Neurology 2004; 62:451-456. Five autopsied patients who died from leukoencephalopathy following treatment for CNS lymphoma are reported. The clinical, imaging and pathological results are reported.
28. Peace KA, Orme SM, Padayatty SJ, et al. Cognitive dysfunction in patients with pituitary tumour who have been treated with transfrontal or transsphenoidal surgery or medication. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1998; 49:391-396.
29. Guinan EM, Lowy C, Stanhope N, Lewis PD, Kopelman MD. Cognitive effects of pituitary tumours and their treatments: two case studies and an investigation of 90 patients. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1998; 65:870-876.
30. McCord MW, Buatti JM, Fennell EM, et al. Radiotherapy for pituitary adenoma: long-term outcome and sequelae. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 1997; 39:437-444. The cognitive effects of radiotherapy for pituitary tumors is reported.
31. Noad R, Narayanan KR, Howlett T, et al. Evaluation of the effect of radiotherapy for pituitary tumours on cognitive function and quality of life. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2004; 16:233-237. Cognitive impairments were found to occur in patients undergoing radiotherapy for pituitary tumors; 27% of patients who underwent surgery and radiotherapy performed below the 10th percentile in three or more cognitive tests compared with 5% of patients undergoing surgery alone.
32. Meyers CA, Geara F, Wong PF, Morrison WH. Neurocognitive effects of therapeutic irradiation for base of skull tumors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2000; 46:51-55.
33. Glosser G, McManus P, Munzenrider J, et al. Neuropsychological function in adults after high dose fractionated radiation therapy of skull base tumors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 1997; 38:231-239.
34. Steinvorth S, Welzel G, Fuss M, et al. Neuropsychological outcome after fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) for base of skull meningiomas: a prospective 1-year follow-up. Radiother Oncol 2003; 69:177-182.
35. Monje ML, Mizumatsu S, Fike JR, Palmer TD. Irradiation induces neural precursor-cell dysfunction. Nat Med 2002; 8:955-962.
36. Hodges H, Katzung N, Sowinski P, et al. Late behavioural and neuropathological effects of local brain irradiation in the rat. Behav Brain Res 1998; 91:99-114.
37. Tada E, Parent JM, Lowenstein DH, Fike JR. X-irradiation causes a prolonged reduction in cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of adult rats. Neuroscience 2000; 99:33-41.
38. Snyder JS, Kee N, Wojtowicz JM. Effects of adult neurogenesis on synaptic plasticity in the rat dentate gyrus. J Neurophysiol 2001; 85:2423-2431.
39. Shors TJ, Miesegaes G, Beylin A, et al. Neurogenesis in the adult is involved in the formation of trace memories. Nature 2001; 410:372-376.
40. Mizumatsu S, Monje ML, Morhardt DR, et al. Extreme sensitivity of adult neurogenesis to low doses of X-irradiation. Cancer Res 2003; 63:4021-4027.
41. Nilsson M, Perfilieva E, Johansson U, et al. Enriched environment increases neurogenesis in the adult rat dentate gyrus and improves spatial memory. J Neurobiol 1999; 39:569-578.
42. Senzer N. Rationale for a phase III study of erythropoietin as a neurocognitive protectant in patients with lung cancer receiving prophylactic cranial irradiation. Semin Oncol 2002; 29 (Suppl 19):47-52.
43. Wang L, Zhang Z, Wang Y, Zhang R, Chopp M. Treatment of stroke with erythropoietin enhances neurogenesis and angiogenesis and improves neurological function in rats. Stroke 2004; 35:1732-1737.
44. Fukuda H, Fukuda A, Zhu C, et al. Irradiation-induced progenitor cell death in the developing brain is resistant to erythropoietin treatment and caspase inhibition. Cell Death Differ 2004; 11:1166-1178. The efficacy of erythopoietin in the protection of neurogenesis from irradiation was not confirmed in this study.
45. Corkin S, Amaral DG, Gonzalez RG, et al. H.M.'s medial temporal lobe lesion: findings from magnetic resonance imaging. J Neurosci 1997; 17:3964-3979.