The CogENT study version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cognition Evaluation for patients with Neurological Tumours (the CogENT study)
IRAS ID
205079
Contact name
Stephen Price
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
6 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Patients and carers for patients with severe forms of brain cancer often have difficulties with day-to-day activities because of problems with memory, attention, vision and thinking; collectively called cognition. It is often these problems that initially lead to the diagnosis of brain cancer with a brain scan.
Currently, we do not fully understand how such difficulties, called cognitive deficits, develop and how they are affected by treatment for example with surgery. Many patients are anxious about these difficulties worsening over time with treatment and the impact they can have on their quality of life as well as their financial situation with regards to returning to work.
The aim of our project is to use a tablet computer tool (such as on an Ipad) to help us study in more detail the impact of such brain cancers on the patients' memory, attention, vision and thinking when they first come to see us, the Neurosurgery team. We will also repeat this testing using the tool after the patients have had treatments such as surgery to study any additional effects of the operation. We will also use the brain scans routinely performed during the diagnosis and treatments to help understand why these difficulties occur.
The results of this study will help to better inform future patients with brain cancers about how the cancer and the treatments are likely to affect their functioning in the longer term, which in turn will help their decision making about their treatment options. The knowledge generated by this research can form the basis of future work to try and make treatments safer in their impact on cognition, to compare rehabilitation options to maximise functional recovery and to explore using cognition testing as an early diagnosis tool to try help patients sooner.REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0491
Date of REC Opinion
30 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion