Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30467812›Full record

ArticleJournal of neuro-oncology2019

Computerized assessment of cognitive impairment among children undergoing radiation therapy for medulloblastoma.

Andrew M Heitzer, Jason M Ashford, Brian T Harel, Adrian Schembri, Michelle A Swain, Joanna Wallace, Kirsten K Ness, Fang Wang, Hui Zhang, Thomas E Merchant and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neuro-oncology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. National multicentered retrospective review of salvage therapy for pediatric medulloblastoma: a Canadian experience.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025
    Article
  2. Evolution of neurosurgical advances and nuances in medulloblastoma therapy.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2024
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Assessment and Monitoring of Neurocognitive Function in Pediatric Cancer.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2021
    Review
  9. Rate of radiation-induced microbleed formation on 7T MRI relates to cognitive impairment in young patients treated with radiation therapy for a brain tumor.Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology · 2021
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Medulloblastoma genomics in the modern molecular era.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2020
    Review
  13. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Andrew M HeitzerDepartment of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105-2794, USA.
Jason M AshfordDepartment of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105-2794, USA.
Brian T HarelTakeda Pharmaceuticals International Co, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Adrian SchembriCogstate Limited, New Haven, CT, USA.
Michelle A SwainPaediatric Rehabilitation Service, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Bribane, QLD, Australia.
Joanna WallaceDivision of Child Neurology, Stanford University/Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Kirsten K NessDepartment of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Fang WangDepartment of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Hui ZhangDepartment of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Thomas E MerchantDepartment of Radiation Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Giles W RobinsonDepartment of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Amar GajjarDepartment of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Heather M ConklinDepartment of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN, 38105-2794, USA. heather.conklin@stjude.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8931-4134
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital · USChildren's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service · AUConnecticut Sea Grant · USLucile Packard Children's Hospital · USTakeda (United States) · US

Funding

Viral Vector Technology (VVTSR)P30CA021765 · NCI · ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL · PI CHARLES ROBERTS · 1985 to 2026
$166.9M
National Cancer Institute P30-CA21765NCI NIH HHS P30 CA021765
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAdvantages to computerized cognitive assessment include increased precision of response time measurement and greater availability of alternate forms. Cogstate is a computerized cognitive battery developed to monitor attention, memory, and processing speed. Although the literature suggests the domains assessed by Cogstate are areas of deficit in children undergoing treatment for medulloblastoma, the validity of Cogstate in this population has not been previously investigated.

methodsChildren participating in an ongoing prospective trial of risk-adapted therapy for newly diagnosed medulloblastoma (n = 73; mean age at baseline = 12.1 years) were administered Cogstate at baseline (after surgery, prior to adjuvant therapy) and 3 months later (6 weeks after completion of radiation therapy). Gold-standard neuropsychological measures of similar functions were administered at baseline.

resultsLinear mixed models revealed performance within age expectations at baseline across Cogstate tasks. Following radiation therapy, there was a decline in performance on Cogstate measures of reaction time (Identification and One Back). Females exhibited slower reaction time on One Back and Detection tasks at baseline. Higher-dose radiation therapy and younger age were associated with greater declines in performance. Pearson correlations revealed small-to-moderate correlations between Cogstate reaction time and working memory tasks with well-validated neuropsychological measures.

conclusionsCogstate is sensitive to acute cognitive effects experienced by some children with medulloblastoma and demonstrates associations with clinical predictors established in the literature. Correlations with neuropsychological measures of similar constructs offer additional evidence of validity. The findings provide support for the utility of Cogstate in monitoring acute cognitive effects in pediatric cancer.

Indexed as

Diagnosis, Computer-AssistedNeuropsychological TestsAdolescentAdultCerebellar NeoplasmsChildChild, PreschoolCognitive DysfunctionCranial IrradiationFemaleHumansMaleMedulloblastomaReaction TimeSoftwareYoung AdultBrain tumorCogstateMedulloblastomaNeuropsychologyPediatric

Identifiers

PMID30467812
PMCPMC6344264
OpenAlexW2901235904

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.