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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Neuro-Oncology and Neurosurgical Oncology
Volume 14 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1475860
This article is part of the Research Topic Integrating Health-Related Quality of Life in Neuro-Oncology View all 7 articles
Preoperative subjective impairments in language and memory in brain tumor patients
Provisionally accepted
Lena Rykba
1,2,3*
Roel Jonkers
2,3
Milena Burzlaff
1,4
Tizian Rosenstock
1
Peter Vajkoczy
1
Thomas Picht
1,5
Katharina Faust
1
Adrià Rofes
2,3*- 1 Clinic for Neurosurgery with Pediatric Neurosurgery, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 2 Center for Language and Cognition, Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
- 3 Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
- 4 Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- 5 Cluster of Excellence: "Matters of Activity. Image Space Material", Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
Background. Subjective reports can reveal relevant information regarding the nature of the impairment of brain tumor patients, unveiling potential gaps in current assessment practices. The co-occurrence of language and memory impairments has been previously reported, albeit scarcely. The aim of this study is therefore to understand the co-occurrence of subjective language and memory complaints in the preoperative state of brain tumor patients and its impact on Quality of Life (QoL). Methods. 31 brain tumor patients (12 LGG, 19 HGG) underwent a semi-structured interview to assess subjective complaints of language deficits, co-occurrences between language and memory dysfunction, and changes in QoL. Group and subgroup analyses were conducted to provide general and tumor grade specific data. Results. 48.4% of patients mentioned co-occurrence of language and memory impairments in reading, writing, and conversation. The HGG group reported co-occurrences in all three of these (reading: 31.6%; writing: 21.1%; conversation: 26.3%), while the LGG only described co-occurrences in reading (25%) and conversation (8.3%), although these were not statistically significant. All patients with co-occurring language and memory deficits reported these to be linked to reduced QoL (48.4%). In patients with an HGG, this number was slightly higher (52.6%) than in patients with an LGG (41.7%). Conclusion. Language impairments co-occur with memory dysfunction as perceived in patients’ daily life. Patients see these impairments as affecting their quality of life. Further attention to dedicated language and memory tasks seems necessary.
Keywords: brain tumor, Language, Memory, Subjective deficits, Quality of Life
Received: 04 Aug 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Rykba, Jonkers, Burzlaff, Rosenstock, Vajkoczy, Picht, Faust and Rofes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lena Rykba, Clinic for Neurosurgery with Pediatric Neurosurgery, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Adrià Rofes, Center for Language and Cognition, Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AS, Netherlands
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