Language in childhood posterior fossa tumour survivors
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Language and communication in young adult survivors of childhood posterior fossa tumours
IRAS ID
144923
Contact name
Nicola Pitchford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, days
Research summary
Around 85% of children treated for posterior fossa brain tumours currently survive for 5 years or longer. However, treatment methods such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have known long-lasting side-effects which may prevent optimal brain functioning. In addition, the tumour location can affect important brain centres responsible for attention, memory, planning and organisation of the daily activities and long-term goals.
It is known that some people treated for brain tumours experience speech and language problems, hindering academic progression and social integration. It is important to understand which aspects of language processing are mostly affected, so effective rehabilitation therapies can be devised, and tumour treatment is planned more carefully in the future.
The purpose of this study is to compare language functioning of young adults who were treated for brain tumours in the past and their peers from general population who have no history of cancer. We will conduct a thorough assessment of language and speech using standardised neuropsychological measures and custom-designed behavioural tasks. In addition, we will conduct magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment, including functional imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), both are safe and painless scans, normally included in tumour treatment protocol. With fMRI, it will be possible to investigate patterns of cortical activation in the regions known to be implicated during the performance of language tasks. Using DTI, we will investigate the relationships between the language impairments and integrity of white matter structures important for language.
By identifying domains of language and communication with the most marked deficits, our findings will inform long-term rehabilitation practice. Secondly, identifying structural and functional neural correlates of impaired language will inform treatment strategies aimed at achieving the best possible balance between improving survival and reducing functional impairments.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/1017
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion