Patel Tirath, Johar Pulkit, Kanisetti Vaishnavi, Talacheru Sahithi, Avinash Vadali, Das Arghadip, Sahu Sweta, Goyal Abhishek, Szobody Megan W, Sayers Tori, Gullapalli Sriya, Yallapu Murali M, Shaikh Mushfiq H, Anand Nikhilesh, Potter-Baker Kelsey, Gadad Bharathi S
Department of Neurosurgery, Trinity Medical Sciences University School of Medicine, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Department of Internal Medicine, AIIMS Rishikesh, Rishikesh, India.
Front Neurosci. 2025 May 30;19:1587059. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1587059. eCollection 2025.
Brain tumors are among the most common neoplasms in children. These patients suffer from neurocognitive impairment, treatment-related side effects, and experience a subpar quality of life (QoL), affecting academic endeavors, social interaction, and mental wellbeing.
This review investigated different long-term neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes in pediatric brain tumor survivors and evaluated various effective treatment methods. We identified 75 relevant articles published between 2019 and 2024 using PubMed, PMC, Embase, and Google Scholar databases. Duplicates were removed, and 14 studies were finally selected following the PRISMA guidelines. Initial observations noted significant variations in the study methodologies and inclusion criteria.
Our study showed that children treated with proton radiotherapy experienced better neurocognitive and academic results than those treated with photon radiotherapy. Cognitive abilities were affected irrespective of the treatment, especially in early stage radiotherapy. Psychosocial impacts such as low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and increased suicidal ideation were also demonstrated. Improvement in long-term outcomes was noted within therapeutic plans devoid of delayed high-dose radiotherapy and marrow ablation chemotherapy.
Increasing our understanding of the long-term effects associated with brain tumors using our current treatment methodology will help us formulate better treatment protocols and improve survivors' quality of life.
脑肿瘤是儿童中最常见的肿瘤之一。这些患者患有神经认知障碍、治疗相关的副作用，生活质量（QoL）较差，影响学业、社交互动和心理健康。
本综述调查了小儿脑肿瘤幸存者不同的长期神经认知和行为结果，并评估了各种有效的治疗方法。我们使用PubMed、PMC、Embase和谷歌学术数据库，确定了2019年至2024年间发表的75篇相关文章。去除重复项后，最终根据PRISMA指南选择了14项研究。初步观察发现研究方法和纳入标准存在显著差异。
我们的研究表明，接受质子放疗的儿童比接受光子放疗的儿童在神经认知和学业方面取得了更好的结果。无论采用何种治疗方法，认知能力都会受到影响，尤其是在早期放疗中。还表现出心理社会影响，如自卑、抑郁症状和自杀意念增加。在没有延迟高剂量放疗和骨髓消融化疗的治疗方案中，长期结果有所改善。
利用我们目前的治疗方法加深对脑肿瘤相关长期影响的理解，将有助于我们制定更好的治疗方案，提高幸存者的生活质量。
