Neurological Complications of Cancer

Cancer and Cognition

According to the American Cancer Society, in 2019 a total of 1,762,450 new cancer cases and 606,880 deaths from cancer were expected to occur in the United States.

Radiotherapy is frequently used to control tumors that can't be removed surgically. Chemotherapy is often used to control metastatic cancers that have spread to other organs. New treatments continue to improve patient survival rates, however, many cancer survivors suffer impaired cognitive function after receiving chemotherapy (“chemobrain”) or radiotherapy (“beamobrain”).

It is estimated that 28–75% of cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy have trouble with concentrating, memory, multi-tasking and planning. This “chemobrain” can have major effects on patients' quality of life. The loss of cognitive function in children who have received combined chemotherapy and radiation for brain tumors is another increasing concern as survival rates have improved. There are currently few options to prevent patients from suffering losses in cognitive performance after treatment.

CINID researchers are investigating how cancer treatments are leading to this loss of advanced cognitive functions (executive functions). Thanks to a gift from the Cottell family, they are able to develop leading-edge instrumentation to determine how neural network function is harmed by both chemotherapy and radiation.

Read about CINID's clinical trials and translational studies.

Cognition Working Group

• Richard A. Britten, Ph.D.
• Hamid Okhravi, MD

Glioblastoma Multiforme

Glioblastoma Multiforme is one of the most invasive types of brain tumor. It has a poor survival rate and a high incidence of recurrent seizures. When chemotherapy drugs are administered to treat the tumor, they can fail to reach the tumor correctly and then cause severe side effects throughout a patient's entire system. Patients also take antiepileptic drugs, which, combined with chemotherapy, reduce the patient's quality of life, and can lead to additional medical problems and death.

• Glioblastoma Multiforme is the most common adult brain tumor, with an estimated 3.2 cases per 100,000 individuals worldwide. This is the highest rate among malignant brain and central nervous system tumors. These tumors are most frequently diagnosed in the northeast and lowest in the south-central region of United States.
• Glioblastoma Multiforme is the most malignant of tumors of the astrocytoma, a type of nerve cell. The median overall survival rate is approximately 12 months and only 4.8% to 5.4% of patients survive five years.
• The disease tends to affect older adults and the elderly population. The median age at diagnosis is 64 years with the incidence peaking at 75 to 84 years and dropping after 85 years. This illness is not common in children.
• Males are more commonly affected with Glioblastoma Multiforme, with 16 diagnosed for every 10 females. Marriage appears to improve survival, especially in males older than 60 years of age.

Our center studies the neuroinflammation that mediates tumor growth and progression, possible treatment options and methods to modulate seizures caused by Glioblastoma Multiforme tumors.

Glioblastoma Multiforme Researcher

• Alberto E. Musto, MD, Ph.D, FAES