Our data provide the necessary reevaluation of the impact of surgery in molecularly defined LGG and support maximal resection as first-line treatment for molecularly defined LGG. Importantly, in IDH mutated astrocytoma, even small postoperative volumes have negative impact on OS, which argues for a second-look operation in this subtype to remove minor residues if safely possible.

Background Patients with glioma often suffer from cognitive deficits. Physical exercise has been effective in ameliorating cognitive deficits in older adults and neurological patients. This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) explored the possible impact of an exercise intervention, designed to improve cognitive functioning in glioma patients, regarding cognitive test performance and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Methods Thirty-four clinically stable patients with World Health Organization grades II/III glioma were randomized to a home-based remotely coached exercise group or an active control group. Patients exercised 3 times per week for 20–45 minutes, with moderate to vigorous intensity, during 6 months. At baseline and immediate follow-up, cognitive performance and PROs were assessed with neuropsychological tests and questionnaires, respectively. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate effect sizes of potential between-group differences in cognitive performance and PROs at 6 months. Results The exercise group (n = 21) had small- to medium-sized better follow-up scores than the control group (n = 11) on several measures of attention and information processing speed, verbal memory, and executive function, whereas the control group showed a slightly better score on a measure of sustained selective attention. The exercise group also demonstrated small- to medium-sized better outcomes on measures of self-reported cognitive symptoms, fatigue, sleep, mood, and mental health–related quality of life. Conclusions This small exploratory RCT in glioma patients provides a proof of concept with respect to improvement of cognitive functioning and PROs after aerobic exercise, and warrants larger exercise trials in brain tumor patients.

This systematic review evaluates relevant findings and methodologic aspects of studies on cognitive functioning in meningioma patients prior to and/or following surgery with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases were searched until December 2015. From 1012 initially identified articles, 11 met the inclusion criteria for this review. Multiple methodological limitations were identified which include the lack of pre-treatment assessments, variations in the number and types of neuropsychological tests used, the normative data used to identify patients with cognitive deficits, and the variety of definitions for cognitive impairment. Study results suggest that most of meningioma patients are faced with cognitive deficits in several cognitive domains prior to surgery. Following surgery, most of these patients seem to improve in cognitive functioning. However, they still have impairments in a wide range of cognitive functions compared to healthy controls. Suggestions are given for future research. Adequate diagnosis and treatment of cognitive deficits may ultimately lead to improved outcome and quality of life in meningioma patients.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in patients with primary brain tumors, and may have a major impact on activities of daily living and on quality of life. This is the first prospective study that investigated the incidence and severity of cognitive dysfunction in meningioma patients before and after surgery, and the change in dysfunction over time, both at group and individual patient level. Sixty-eight meningioma patients were neuropsychologically tested one day before brain surgery. Sixty-two patients were followed up 3 months after surgery. All patients were assessed with a brief (30 min) computerized screening battery of neuropsychological tests (i.e., CNS Vital Signs). Pre- and post-operatively, meningioma patients demonstrated significantly lower scores in all cognitive domains; memory, psychomotor speed, reaction time, complex attention, cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and executive functioning, in comparison with normative data. Pre-operatively, 47 out of 68 patients (69 %) scored low or very low in one or more cognitive domains. Post-operatively, 27 out of 62 patients (44 %) scored within this range. Test performance improved in all cognitive domains post-operatively, with the exception of psychomotor speed and reaction time. In line with previous studies with conventional neuropsychological tests, meningioma patients are faced with cognitive dysfunction in several cognitive domains both pre- and post-operatively. However, a large proportion of patients shows post-operative improvement in cognitive functioning. Longer-term follow-up is recommended to identify potential predictors of cognitive improvement after surgery. Diagnosis and treatment of these cognitive deficits will improve outcomes and quality of life in meningioma patients.

Many patients with primary brain tumors experience cognitive deficits. Cognitive rehabilitation programs focus on alleviating these deficits, but availability of such programs is limited. Our large randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated positive effects of the cognitive rehabilitation program developed by our group. We converted the program into the iPad-based cognitive rehabilitation program ReMind, to increase its accessibility. The app incorporates psychoeducation, strategy training and retraining. This pilot study in patients with primary brain tumors evaluates the feasibility of the use of the ReMind-app in a clinical (research) setting in terms of accrual, attrition, adherence and patient satisfaction. The intervention commenced 3 months after resective surgery and patients were advised to spend 3 h per week on the program for 10 weeks. Of 28 eligible patients, 15 patients with presumed low-grade glioma or meningioma provided informed consent. Most important reason for decline was that patients (7) experienced no cognitive complaints. Participants completed on average 71% of the strategy training and 76% of the retraining. Some patients evaluated the retraining as too easy. Overall, 85% of the patients evaluated the intervention as “good” or “excellent”. All patients indicated that they would recommend the program to other patients with brain tumors. The ReMind-app is the first evidence-based cognitive telerehabilitation program for adult patients with brain tumors and this pilot study suggests that postoperative cognitive rehabilitation via this app is feasible. Based on patients’ feedback, we have expanded the retraining with more difficult exercises. We will evaluate the efficacy of ReMind in an RCT.