Children treated for a brain tumor are at risk for lasting neurocognitive impairments, educational difficulties, social problems, and medical disabilities. Most of the research characterizing these outcomes in pediatric brain tumor survivors focuses on the effects of cranial radiotherapy. However, most pediatric brain tumors are treated with surgery ± chemotherapy without radiotherapy. In fact, many pediatric patients treated with surgery only for a brain tumor will discontinue routine follow-up in the cancer center if neuroimaging remains stable over the first-year post-diagnosis, meaning these patients never transition to long-term follow-up cancer services. Yet, preliminary evidence sugge...

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Children treated for a brain tumor are at risk for lasting neurocognitive impairments, educational difficulties, social problems, and medical disabilities. Most of the research characterizing these outcomes in pediatric brain tumor survivors focuses on the effects of cranial radiotherapy. However, most pediatric brain tumors are treated with surgery ± chemotherapy without radiotherapy. In fact, many pediatric patients treated with surgery only for a brain tumor will discontinue routine follow-up in the cancer center if neuroimaging remains stable over the first-year post-diagnosis, meaning these patients never transition to long-term follow-up cancer services. Yet, preliminary evidence suggests these patients experience significant neurocognitive risk that is likely going undiagnosed and untreated. Further, their experienced symptom burden and functional outcomes (e.g., ability to finish high school, hold a job, and live independently in adulthood) remains largely unknown. This will be the first large-scale study to compare symptom burden, neurocognitive change, and functional outcomes between pediatric brain tumor patients and survivors treated with surgery alone vs. surgery plus chemotherapy. We need to better understand the negative impacts of surgery and chemotherapy on long-term quality of life and functional independence in this large and understudied group of pediatric brain tumor survivors. Our findings will be critical in guiding clinicians and families on the range of outcomes to expect after treatment with surgery ± chemotherapy and informing clinical surveillance and intervention decisions for a profoundly overlooked pediatric patient population.

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