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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Dev Neuropsychol. 2012;37(2):153–175. doi: 10.1080/87565641.2011.632462

TABLE 1.

Studies Examining Attention

Reference N, Population, Design Time Since Treatment Treatment Regimen Outcome Limitations
Mabbott et al. (2008) 60 survivors of PF tumor; 10 non-CNS tumor control subjects; Cross-sectional Mean since diagnosis: PF group = 5.4 y; non-CNS tumor group = 5.9 y PF group: 32/60 received CRT; 28/60 received surgery only; Non-CNS group received chemo + surgery No differences in sustained attention were found between PF groups and/or healthy control group. Heterogeneity in type of treatment received; Unequal group sizes.
Mabbott et al. (2009) 22 survivors of MDB; 17 survivors of low-grade PF glioma; 15 survivors of non-CNS tumor; 10 healthy controls; Cross-sectional MDB group: Mean = 4.9y (SD = 0.55 y) MDB group received CRT + surgery, 10/22 also received chemo. Overall, both PF groups performed worse on selective attention tasks than the non-CNS and control groups. MDB group who received CRT had more errors and slower reaction times compared to non-CNS and control groups. Potentially confounded by MDB group having 18% with residual complications of tumor (0% in all other groups); Unequal group sizes.
Maddrey et al. (2005) 16 long-term survivors of MDB; Cross-sectional Mean = 14.6 y (SD = 3.5 y) All received surgery + CRT The majority were impaired on measures of attention. Small sample size; No control group.
Mulhern et al. (2001) 42 MDB survivors; Cross-sectional Mean = 4.9 y; Range (1.8–11.0 y) All received surgery + CRT; 29/42 also received chemo Cohort showed deficits in selective attention; these were linked to younger age at time of CRT. No control group; Heterogeneity of treatment.
Reeves et al. (2006) 38 MDB survivors; Cross-sectional Time since diagnosis: Mean = 1.9 y; Range (0.1–4.7 y) Surgery and CRT: 25/38; Surgery, CRT, and chemo: 13/38 8/11 attention variables were significantly below sample mean; omission errors associated with lower reading and math. No control group; Wide range of time since treatment.
Ronning et al. (2005) 23 survivors of MDB (n=11) or astrocytoma (n=12); Cross-sectional Mean = 15.9 y, Range (10.2–20.8 y) MDB: Surgery, CRT + chemo; Astroctyoma: Surgery Both groups performed below the mean; MDB group performed worse than astrocytoma group in attention. Small sample size; No control group.

Note. MDB = medulloblastoma; PF = posterior fossa; Y = years; SD = standard deviation; CRT = cranial radiation therapy; chemo = chemotherapy; CNS = Central Nervous System.