Working Memory Performance Among Childhood Brain Tumor Survivors Treated With Conformal Radiation Therapy: A Pilot Study

Inclusion Criteria:

Brain Tumor Patients

- Treated for a primary central nervous system (CNS) tumor with conformal radiation
therapy and enrolled on the institutional protocol RT-1

- Initiated radiation therapy at least 2 years prior to enrollment with no evidence of
recurrent disease

- Age 8-18 years inclusive at the time of enrollment, with sampling to obtain a broad
cross-section of participants in terms of age, tumor location and time since RT
initiation

- English as the primary language

- Research participant and one parent willing to participate and provide consent/assent
according to institutional guidelines

Solid Tumor Patient Controls

- Treated for a solid tumor (i.e., Ewing's sarcoma, osteosarcoma, soft
tissue/rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma or Wilms tumor) at St. Jude without CNS
directed therapy - Diagnosed at least 2 years prior to enrollment

- Age 8-18 inclusive at the time of enrollment, with age, gender and race sampling to
broadly match the brain tumor group

- English as the primary language

- Research participant and one parent willing to participate and provide consent/assent
according to institutional guidelines

Sibling Controls

- Healthy sibling controls- siblings of St. Jude patients treated for a brain tumor
(not necessarily on RT-1)

- Age 8-18 inclusive, with age and gender sampling to broadly match the patient group

- English as a primary language

- Research participant and one parent willing to participate and provide consent/assent
according to institutional guidelines

Exclusion Criteria:

Brain Tumor Patients

- Significant impairment in global intellectual functioning (operationalized as an
estimated IQ less than 70 as indicated by most recent RT-1 testing)

- History of documented CNS injury or disease predating cancer diagnosis

- History of documented Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) predating
cancer diagnosis by at least one year (must have been diagnosed by a physician with
medication prescribed)

- Treatment with psychostimulant or psychotropic medication within two weeks of study
enrollment

- Sensory or motor impairment that would preclude valid cognitive testing

Solid Tumor and Sibling Controls

- Significant impairment in global intellectual functioning (operationalized as a
history of special education in a self-contained classroom)

- History of documented CNS injury or disease

- History of documented Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (must have been
diagnosed by a physician with medication prescribed)

- Treatment with psychostimulant or psychotropic medication within two weeks of study
enrollment

- Sensory or motor impairment that would preclude valid cognitive testing