Cognitive deficits in brain tumor patients after neurosurgery: incidence, severity and prediction of outcome

Deficits in cognitive functions are common in patients with primary brain tumors. These cognitive deficits can be very subtle, and easily go undetected on routine clinical examination. However, they are often very disruptive for a person’s quality of life, preventing return to a normal social and professional life.

Preservation of cognitive functioning is an important outcome measure in glioma surgery, and essential for quality of life. At present, unfortunately, it is largely unknown how surgery affects cognition. A better understanding of the variables that predict the impact of surgery on cognition is of significant importance not only to patients and their families, but also to neurosurgeons. It provides neurosurgeons with evidence-based information about possible individual risk of surgery which will steer clinical decision making and enables to inform patients better about the consequences of surgery on long-term cognitive functioning.

Objectives:



1) To describe the incidence and severity of cognitive impairments in patients with glioma and meningiomas before, and 3 and 12 months after surgical treatment.



2) To develop models based on presurgical sociodemographic, clinical, imaging, and (neuro)psychological variables that predict cognitive functioning one year after surgery.



3) To increase knowledge on fatigue, work status, work limitations, and community integration, and their relationship with cognition (over time) in order to improve care for patients with primary brain tumors.

Patients will complete preoperative (i.e., at the day of hospitalization one day before surgery) neuropsychological tests and questionnaires and will be followed up at 3 and 12 months after surgery. Healthy controls will be tested at the same time points.

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