J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 15:90-97, February 2003
© 2003 American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Progress of Memory Function After Radiation Therapy in Patients With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Linda C. W. Lam, M.R.C.Psych.,
S. F. Leung, F.R.C.R. and
Y. L. Chan, F.R.C.R.
Received February 5, 2001; revised August 17, 2001; accepted August 21, 2001. From the Departments of Psychiatry (L.C.W.L.), Clinical Oncology (S.F.L.), and Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging (Y.L.C.), the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Address correspondence to Dr. Lam, Department of Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong. E-mail: cwlam{at}cuhk.edu.hk
The authors evaluated the late neurocognitive profile and progress of memory functions in 60 patients with primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had been treated with radiation therapy for more than 2 years. Forty had imaging evidence of temporal lobe injury (TLI-positive), and 20 did not (TLI-negative). The patients and 19 healthy control subjects, matched with the patients for age and educational level, underwent extensive memory assessments. Seventeen patients (10 TLI-positive, 7 TLI-negative) were reassessed after an average of 28 months for progress of memory functions. The patient groups performed significantly worse on most memory tests compared with the normal subjects. Patients with memory complaints had lower scores for verbal memory than those without such complaints. The TLI-positive and TLI-negative groups did not differ significantly from each other in cognitive performance. At follow-up, visual memory performance had deteriorated, while verbal memory remained more stable.
Key Words: Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma • Radiotherapy • Memory
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