Characterization of Cognitive Function in Survivors of Diffuse Gliomas Using Morphometric Correlation Networks.

This pilot study investigates structural alterations and their relationships with cognitive function in survivors of diffuse gliomas. Twenty-four survivors of diffuse gliomas (mean age 44.5 ± 11.5), from whom high-resolution T1-weighted images, neuropsychological tests, and self-report questionnaires were obtained, were analyzed. Patients were grouped by degree of cognitive impairment, and interregional correlations of cortical thickness were computed to generate morphometric correlation networks (MCNs). The results show that the cortical thickness of the right insula (R2 = 0.3025, p = 0.0054) was negatively associated with time since the last treatment, and the cortical thickness of the left superior temporal gyrus (R2 = 0.2839, p = 0.0107) was positively associated with cognitive performance. Multiple cortical regions in the default mode, salience, and language networks were identified as predominant nodes in the MCNs of survivors of diffuse gliomas. Compared to cognitively impaired patients, cognitively non-impaired patients tended to have higher network stability in network nodes removal analysis, especially when the fraction of removed nodes (among 66 nodes in total) exceeded 55%. These findings suggest that structural networks are altered in survivors of diffuse gliomas and that their cortical structures may also be adapting to support cognitive function during survivorship.

Identifying Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment Using the FACT-Cog Perceived Cognitive Impairment.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a concerning problem for many cancer survivors. Evaluating patients for CRCI has been a challenge, in part because of a lack of standardized practices. Self-report instruments are often used to assess CRCI, but there are no validated cutpoints. We present the results of receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identifying cutpoints of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognition perceived cognitive impairment (PCI) in female breast cancer survivors for identifying CRCI cases. We defined presence of CRCI based on elevated complaints on the Patient's Assessment of Own Functioning Inventory compared with healthy control scores. Our results indicate that scores less than 54 in PCI scores using 18 items and scores less than 60 in PCI scores using 20 items exhibited good ability to discriminate CRCI cases from noncases (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.84 [95% CI = 0.73 to 0.94]). These preliminary results represent an important contribution toward standardizing practices across CRCI studies.