Language skills following risk-adapted treatment for medulloblastoma

Recent research findings suggested that children treated for medulloblastoma (MB) may experience undiagnosed language difficulties following treatment. The aim of this report was to investigate language skills in an adolescent following treatment for MB.

This single case study profiles the language skills of GCG, a female aged 14;1 years, who was treated with risk-adapted cranial radiation therapy (CRT) for MB 4 years prior to language assessment.

Difficulties recalling verbal information of increasing length and complexity and reduced competence with language requiring critical thinking and complex cognitive processing were identified.

The findings suggest that prospective language assessment and monitoring should routinely be undertaken in children following treatment for MB, even when less-intense treatments are delivered to reduce adverse neurocognitive outcomes, due to the vulnerability of the developing brain to CRT.