Impairments in Quality of Life and Cognitive Functions in Long-term Survivors of Glioblastoma

Abstract

Background:The incidence of long-term survival in glioblastoma (GBM), i.e., >3 years, ranges from 3% to 5%. Although extensive research is performed in novel therapies for prolonging survival, there is a scarcity of research focusing on the impact of tumor and treatment on cognitive, psychological, and social status of survivors. This study is an attempt to look into this poorly addressed important issue.Materials and Methods:Nine patients (six adults and three children) with GBM who had survived >3 years were included in the study. The quality of life (QOL) functions were assessed with the World Health Organization QOL Questionnaire BREF questionnaire. The neuropsychological assessment was done using the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences neuropsychology battery for adults and children. The scores were compared with normative data.Results:The physical and psychological health-related QOL of long-term GBM survivors were affected considerably due to fatigue, poor quality of sleep, inability to concentrate, presence of depression, financial burden with impaired personal and social relationships (P < 0.05). Different domains of cognitions such as motor speed (P = 0.0173), mental speed (P = 0.0022), sustained attention (P = 0.0001), long-term memory (P = 0.0431), mental flexibility (P < 0.05), and planning and executive functions (P < 0.05) were significantly impaired affecting personal, social, and professional lives.Conclusion:The health-related QOL and cognition are significantly impaired in GBM long-term survivors. As the incidence of long-term survival is very less, there is a need for larger multicenter studies to come up with definitive results, which in turn can help in formatting the rehabilitative and support programs for these patients.

Oral health-related quality of life and cognitive functioning in myofascial temporomandibular disorders pain

“…Our results suggest that better auditory-verbal operational memory, efficiency of perception, and ability to conceptualise corre-late with lower perceived OHRQoL. This conflicts with earlier results for patients suffering from chronic diseases [53][54] but aligns with results for patients with somatic diseases in older age [see [55][56]. This is all the more interesting because the mean age of the studied population was 35 years, making it difficult to explain in terms of age characteristics.…”

A pilot study of neuropsychological functions, APOE and amyloid imaging in patients with gliomas

“…Cognitive studies of long term survivors of brain tumors have included primarily patients with low-grade gliomas, considering their longer survival rates relative to those with high-grade gliomas [29]. However, a recent study [30] reported cognitive impairment across several domains in a small group of glioblastoma patients who survived more than three years. Taphoorn et al [31] studied cognitive outcome in a large cohort of low-grade glioma patients (most 1-22 years post RT), in patients with hematologic cancers, and healthy controls.…”

AVNP2 protects against cognitive impairments induced by C6 glioma by suppressing tumour associated inflammation in rats

“…However, the tolerance of tumour cells to therapy makes some residual lesions regrow, so the outcomes have not been satisfactory (Stupp et al, 2009). Furthermore, it has been found that cognitive impairment is one of the most important clinical symptoms and complications of craniocerebral disease in both patients and animal models with gliomas (Solanki et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2011;Weitzner and Meyers, 1997;Van Dyk and Ganz, 2019). Cognitive function occupies an essential position in predicting the prognosis of glioma patients and may even be the first indicator of tumour recurrence after treatment (Crossen et al, 1994;Janelsins et al, 2011;Vecht et al, 2017;Jacob et al, 2018).…”