Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 5, 2026
Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Psychosocial profile of pediatric brain tumor survivors with neurocognitive complaints
Marieke Anna de Ruiter1, Antoinette Yvonne Narda Schouten-van Meeteren2, Dannis Gilbert van Vuurden3
1Pediatric Psychosocial Department, Emma Children's Hospital AMC, Meibergdreef 9, Room A3-241, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) with neurocognitive issues experience more psychosocial problems. Early screening and support are crucial for these children to improve their well-being and long-term outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Oncology
- Psychology
Background:
- Increasing survival rates for pediatric brain tumors highlight the need to address long-term neurocognitive and psychosocial sequelae.
- Neurocognitive deficits following brain tumors and treatment can significantly impact a child's overall functioning and quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively assess the psychosocial functioning of pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) who exhibit parent-reported neurocognitive complaints.
- To identify specific areas of psychosocial difficulty in PBTS compared to normative data and sibling controls.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 82 PBTS (aged 8-18) with parent-reported neurocognitive complaints and 43 healthy siblings.
- Utilized self-report, parent-report, and teacher-report questionnaires assessing health-related quality of life (HRQOL), self-esteem, psychosocial adjustment, executive functioning, and fatigue.
Main Results:
- PBTS reported lower physical, psychological, and generic HRQOL compared to the general population.
- Parents reported more psychosocial and executive problems in their children than expected, while self-reported self-esteem and psychosocial adjustment appeared unaffected.
- Increased fatigue-related concentration issues were noted in PBTS compared to siblings, and female PBTS (8-11 years) showed more psychosocial adjustment problems according to teachers.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric brain tumor survivors with neurocognitive complaints demonstrate significant psychosocial challenges across self, parent, and teacher reports.
- Systematic screening for psychosocial functioning is essential to provide targeted support for PBTS experiencing neurocognitive difficulties.
Purpose:
With more children surviving a brain tumor, neurocognitive consequences of the tumor and its treatment become apparent, which could affect psychosocial functioning. The present study therefore aimed to assess psychosocial functioning of pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) in detail.
Methods:
Psychosocial functioning of PBTS (8-18 years) with parent-reported neurocognitive complaints was compared to normative data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), self-esteem, psychosocial adjustment, and executive functioning (one-sample t tests) and to a sibling control group on fatigue (independent-samples t test). Self-, parent-, and teacher-report questionnaires were included, where appropriate, providing complementary information.
Results:
Eighty-two PBTS (mean age 13.4 years, SD 3.2, 49 % males) and 43 healthy siblings (mean age 14.3, SD 2.4, 40 % males) were included. As compared to the normative population, PBTS themselves reported decreased physical, psychological, and generic HRQOL (d = 0.39-0.62, p < 0.008). Compared to siblings, increased fatigue-related concentration problems (d = 0.57, p < 0.01) were reported, although self-reported self-esteem and psychosocial adjustment seemed not to be affected. Parents of PBTS reported more psychosocial (d = 0.81, p < 0.000) and executive problems (d = 0.35-0.43, p < 0.016) in their child than parents of children in the normative population. Teachers indicated more psychosocial adjustment problems for female PBTS aged 8-11 years than for the female normative population (d = 0.69, p < 0.025), but they reported no more executive problems.
Conclusions:
PBTS with parent-reported neurocognitive complaints showed increased psychosocial problems, as reported by PBTS, parents, and teachers.
Implications For Cancer Survivors:
Systematic screening of psychosocial functioning is necessary so that tailored support from professionals can be offered to PBTS with neurocognitive complaints.
