Neurobehavioral Functioning in Pediatric Brain Tumor Patients After Proton Beam Radiation Treatment

The purpose of this study is to longitudinally examine neurobehavioral functioning outcomes and use of special education services in brain tumor and CNS tumor patients treated with proton radiation at MGH. Furthermore, we seek to correlate neurobehavioral data with pertinent clinical information. We anticipate better neurobehavioral functioning to be associated with use of protons (vs. photons, as reported in the literature). We also anticipate the need and utilization of special education services to be lower in brain and CNS tumor patients treated with protons (vs. photons, as reported in the literature). Lastly, we anticipate greater neurobehavioral deficits in patients whose proton radiation treatment involved the craniospinal axis compared to those who received proton radiation to the involved field.