Assess cognitive function in pediatric and adult subjects to study the effects of cancer and anti-cancer drugs.
Cogstate’s computerized battery of rapid, reliable, simple and sensitive tests measure the cognitive domains affected by various types of cancer, namely areas of attention, memory and executive function.
The validity of the Cogstate battery in oncology settings has been reported in the academic literature, with studies showing high acceptability and tolerability in patients with brain tumor, glioblastoma, brain metastases, metastatic melanoma, breast cancer, and men with testicular or prostate cancer. Cogstate tests have demonstrated excellent sensitivity to the cognitive impairment that occurs in oncology patients receiving a range of treatments including radiation and chemotherapy, and identification of clinically meaningful change over longitudinal assessments have been reported in response to both pharmacological or psychological therapies. Acute cognitive changes have been demonstrated in clinical trials in patients with brain metastases, breast cancer and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), whilst relationships between the Cogstate tests and conventional neuropsychological and clinical rating scales in oncology have been established in pediatric and adult contexts.
Key References
Caine, J., Mehta, M., Deshmukh, S., Gondi, V., Tome, W., Kanner, A., … Kachnic, L. (2014). CogState computerized memory tests in patients with brain metastases: Secondary endpoint results of RTOG 0933. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 111, S5.
Patel, S., Meier, A., Fernandez, N., Lo, T., Moore, C., & Delgado, N. (2017). Convergent and criterion validity of the CogState computerized brief battery cognitive assessment in women with and without breast cancer. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2016.1275819
Phillips, K.-A., Ribi, K., Sun, Z., Stephens, A., Thompson, A., Harvey, V., … Bernhard, J. (2010). Cognitive function in postmenopausal women receiving adjuvant letrozole or tamoxifen for breast cancer in the BIG 1-98 randomized trial. Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland), 19(5), 388–95. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2010.03.025
Rogiers, A., Leys, C., De Cremer, J., Awada, G., Schembri, A., … & Neyns, B. (2019). Health-related quality of life, emotional burden, and neurocognitive function in the first generation of metastatic melanoma survivors treated with pembrolizumab: a longitudinal pilot study. Supportive Care in Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05168-3
Sands, S. A., Harel, B. T., Savone, M., Kelly, K., Vijayanathan, V., Welch, J. G., … & Cole, P. D. (2017). Feasibility and baseline neurocognitive assessment using Cogstate during the first month of therapy for childhood leukemia. Support Care Cancer, 25, 449-457.
