White matter integrity is associated with cognitive processing in patients treated for a posterior fossa brain tumor

Neuro Oncol. 2012 Sep;14(9):1185-93. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/nos154. Epub 2012 Aug 16.

Abstract

Children treated for posterior fossa tumors experience reduced cognitive processing speed and, after imaging, show damage to white matter (WM) tracts in the brain. This study explores relationships between white matter microstructure, assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA), and speed of cognitive processing using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). At 36 months after treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, 40 patients completed an MRI examination and neuropsychological evaluation. Patients were matched with healthy control subjects based on age, sex, and race. Individual FA values were extracted from examinations for all voxels identified as having significant association between processing speed and FA using TBSS. The regions were labeled anatomically, and fiber tracts were grouped into larger fiber bundle categories based on their anatomical and functional associations. Analyses were performed between mean skeletal FA values in each of the fiber bundles and each of the cognitive processing scores controlling for age. Children 3 years after treatment for posterior fossa brain tumors demonstrate significantly lower processing speed associated with decreased FA, compared with their healthy peers. Commissural fibers in the corpus callosum were negatively affected by disease and therapy with detrimental consequence on patients' cognitive processing. Diffusion tensor imaging of the white matter tracts in the brain is relevant to determining potential mechanisms underlying clinically meaningful change in cognitive performance. Neuroprotective strategies are needed to preserve critical functions.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Brain Neoplasms / complications*
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Cognition Disorders / etiology*
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Infratentorial Neoplasms / complications*
  • Infratentorial Neoplasms / pathology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / pathology*
  • Prognosis
  • Young Adult