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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Quantifying Cognitive Decrements Caused by Cranial Radiotherapy
Published on: October 18, 2011
[Preoperative and postoperative assessment of memory function for intracranial tumor patients]
Chao Shen1, Rong Xie, Wei-min Bao
1Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, Shanghai 200040, China.
Objective:
To analyze the effects of intracranial tumors and tumor resection on patients' memory functions.
Methods:
Four different memory scales were employed to evaluate 58 intracranial tumor patients' memory functions including short-term memory, delayed memory, clue memory and long-term memory. Thirty-five patients received postoperative follow-ups. There were also 18 healthy controls.
Results:
The extra-cerebral tumor patients presented with delayed memory and long-term memory disorders while intra-cerebral tumor patients suffered from short-term, delayed and severe long-term memory disorders. Patients with dominant hemispheric tumors had more serious memory disorders in all types. Scores obtained after surgery showed an aggravated long-term memory disorder. Sellar region tumors and transsphenoidal tumor resection had no effects upon memory functions.
Conclusion:
Intracranial tumors cause memory disorders. Tumors with different locations and characters have different memory impairments. Intra-cerebral tumors result in more severe memory impairment than extra-cerebral tumors. And dominant hemispheric tumors are worse than non-dominant hemispheric tumors. Tumor resection decreases long-term memory functions.
