Pediatric brain tumors comprise approximately 20 percent of all pediatric cancer diagnoses. Treatment is aggressive, involving surgery and/or irradiation/chemotherapy. Numerous studies have documented the deleterious effects of irradiation therapy and chemotherapy on neuropsychological functioning (Brown, Mulhern, & Simonian, 2002; Mulhern, et al., 1999) and findings have demonstrated declines in performance measures of intelligence, attention, and memory. Recent investigations revealed similar cognitive declines among children who undergo surgical intervention alone (Meyer et al., 2000). There have been burgeoning efforts to manage the cognitive late effects associated with the CNS treatment of pediatric cancer among those children who have received irradiation and/or chemotherapy as part of their treatment. Efforts to enhance the cognitive difficulties experienced in children with brain tumors who undergo surgical intervention alone have not routinely occurred. Because these children also evidence declines in cognitive functioning, attention, and memory, research that addresses the management of this population is critical. This application outlines a training program designed to prepare me in research design and methodology related to the implementation of randomized clinical trials aimed at identifying evidence-based treatments to address cognitive difficulties for this subset of children.
