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Psychophysiological Evaluation of Short-term Neurotoxicity After Prophylactic Brain Irradiation in Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer: a Study of Event Related Potentials

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Abstract

Background. The aim of this study was to show, whether a certain prophylacting applicable radiation affects the cognition, particularly, the specific cognitive components P50, N100, P300 and N400 of auditory event related potentials (ERPs) during a short memory test.

Methods and materials. Eleven patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), who had presented complete response of disease after chemotherapy and radical radiotherapy in the lung, were prescribed to receive a prophylacting cranial irradiation (PCI) with a 6 MeV linear accelerator. The dose schedule was consisting of a total dose up to 30 Gy in 10 fractions, within 12 days (5 days a week). The psychophysiological approach before and after PCI was assessed by measurements of the auditory ERPs during a short memory performance using the digit-span Wechsler test. Components of ERP were recorded from 15 scalp electrodes. Additionally, symptomatology of depression and anxiety were assessed using Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and Spielberger Anxiety Inventory, respectively, for pre- and post-PCI.

Results. No significant difference was noticed pre- and post-radiotherapy of all particular level of psychophysiological analysis concerning both the latencies and the amplitudes of ERPs auditory components P50, N100, P300 and N400 (P > 0.05, Wilcoxon signed test). Additionally, no changes were found with regard to behavioral performance (memory recall), depression symptomatology and state anxiety, according to pre- and post-radiation measurements. However, the self-reported depression symptomatology showed that the patients presented moderate depression.

Conclusion. No short-term psychophysiological neurotoxicity was detected with this PCI schedule using these instruments, lending additional support to evidence suggesting the benefit of this certain PCI schedule for patients with SCLC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychophysiology Laboratory, Psychiatry Clinic, Aiginiteion Hospital, Medical School, Greece

    Charalampos Parageorgiou, Andreas Rambavilas & Georgios Christodoulou

  2. Department of Radiotherapy, Aretaieion Hospital, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens

    Costas Dardoufas, Vassilios Kouloulias & Lambros Vlahos

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Vassilios Kouloulias, Erricos Ventouras & Nikolaos Uzunoglu

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  1. Charalampos Parageorgiou
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Parageorgiou, C., Dardoufas, C., Kouloulias, V. et al. Psychophysiological Evaluation of Short-term Neurotoxicity After Prophylactic Brain Irradiation in Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer: a Study of Event Related Potentials. J Neurooncol 50, 275–285 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006447624574

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