The long-term impact of cerebellar tumor resection on executive functioning, anxiety, and fear of pain: A mixed methodology pilot study

Abstract

This pilot study investigated the long-term impact of a surgery-only treatment (no exposure to other treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation) for pediatric cerebellar low-grade gliomas on executive function, anxiety, and fear of pain (FOP) beliefs. Twelve patients who underwent surgical glioma resection during childhood (surgery age was 4–16 years, study visit age was 10–28 years), and 12 pain-free controls matched for age, sex, race, and handedness were tested. The spatial extent of resection was precisely mapped using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Executive function, anxiety, and FOP were assessed using validated self-report age-appropriate questionnaires for children and adults. Structured clinical interviews at a post-surgery follow-up visit were completed (average: 89 months, range: 20–99). No significant differences in FOP (FOPQ-C t[14 = 1.81, p = 0.09; FOPQ-III t[4] = 0.29, p = 0.79), executive function scores (BRIEF t[20] = 0.30, p = 0.28), or anxiety scores (MASC t[16] = 0.19, p = 0.85; MAQ t[4] = 1.80, p = 0.15) were found in pediatric or adult patients compared to pain-free controls. Clinical interviews mainly categorized pediatric patients as not anxious. One participant reported mild/subclinical anxiety, and one had moderate clinical anxiety. Neither psychologists nor patients endorsed impairments to executive functioning, anxiety, or FOP. Our pilot results suggest that pediatric cerebellar tumor survivors treated with surgery-only have favorable long-term functioning related to these themes. While these results are promising, they will need to be replicated in a larger patient sample.

Keywords:

• Anxiety
• executive function
• fear of pain
• late effects
• neuropsychology
• posterior fossa low-grade glioma

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (grant number R21CA185870 to E. A. Moulton).

Authors’ contributions

All authors contributed substantially to the conception/design of the work, the analysis, and/or interpretation of data. All authors participated in the writing or revisions of this publication. CEL wrote the first draft of the manuscript and all authors were involved in the drafting and approving of the manuscript.

Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).