This study analyzed 125 children who received radiation (XRT or PRT) and had post-treatment neuropsychological evaluation including intelligence (IQ), attention, memory, visuographic skills, academic skills, and parent-reported adaptive functioning. This study compared XRT cohort and PRT cohort and found that PRT was associated with higher full-scale IQ (p=0.048) and processing speed (p=0.007) relative to XRT, with trend toward higher verbal IQ (p=0.06) and general adaptive functioning (p=0.07).

The authors concluded that PRT is associated with favorable outcomes for intelligence and processing speed. Combined with other strategies for treatment de-intensification, PRT may further reduce neuropsychological morbidity of brain tumor treatment.