Radiation and Chemo After Surgery May Slow One Type of Thinking Recovery
Original title: Cognitive Functioning of Low-Grade Glioma Patients with and Without Adjuvant Treatment Before and One Year After Tumor Resection.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This watched real patients over time. It is not a new treatment you can ask for.
The short version
One year after surgery, people who also had radiation and chemotherapy were slower at processing information than people who had surgery alone.
What was studied. Researchers looked at 60 people with a slow-growing brain tumor called low-grade glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary. All had surgery to remove the tumor. 25 also had radiation and chemotherapy afterward, and 35 did not. Everyone took thinking tests one week before surgery and again twelve months later.
What they found. Before surgery, the two groups scored about the same on the thinking tests. Twelve months after surgery, the group that had radiation and chemotherapy was doing worse at how fast they processed information. This was because the group without that extra treatment got better over time, not because the other group got worse. Other thinking skills, like memory and attention, did not show a clear difference.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If you are offered radiation and chemotherapy after surgery, your speed at taking in and using information may not bounce back the way it might otherwise. It can help to talk with your care team about thinking and memory checks, and about support if you notice changes. This study does not say whether to have the extra treatment. That choice also depends on controlling the tumor.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean radiation and chemotherapy damage your thinking overall. Most thinking skills looked similar between the groups. This was a look back at 60 people treated at one place, not a trial that assigned people to treatments. The two groups were different to start with. The people who had extra treatment were older, more often had tumors that crossed the middle of the brain, and reported more low mood. Those things can affect thinking too. This is not a new treatment and it is not a cure or a promise about how you will do.
Source: PubMed, June 29, 2026 · Read the original
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