Long-term cognitive deficits in pediatric low-grade glioma (LGG) survivors reflect pretreatment conditions - Report from the German LGG studies

Abstract

Background: Disease and treatment contribute to cognitive late effects following pediatric low-grade glioma (LGG). We analyzed prospectively collected neuropsychological data of German pediatric LGG survivors and focused on the impact of hydrocephalus at diagnosis, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) status, and extent of surgery. Methods: We used the Neuropsychological Basic Diagnostic screening tool based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model for intelligence and the concept of cross-battery assessment at 2 and 5 years from diagnosis for 316 patients from the German pediatric LGG study and LGG registry (7.1 years median age; 45 NF1; cerebral hemispheres 16%, supratentorial midline 39%, infratentorial 45%). Hydrocephalus was classified radiologically in 137 non-NF1 patients with infratentorial tumors (95/137 complete/subtotal resection). Results: Patients with NF1 versus non-NF1 exhibited inferior verbal short-term memory and visual processing (P