The quality of measurement properties of neurocognitive assessment in brain tumor clinical trials over the last 30 years: a COSMIN checklist-based approach

Purpose To provide an exhaustive review of the neuropsychological examination as conducted in brain tumor clinical trials over the last 30 years and to provide objective ratings about the reliability and suitability of such tests in neurooncological research and clinical practice. Methods Methodolog...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurological sciences 2020-11, Vol.41 (11), p.3105-3121
Main Authors: De Martino, Maria, Santini, Barbara, Cappelletti, Giovanna, Mazzotta, Annapina, Rasi, Matteo, Bulgarelli, Giorgia, Annicchiarico, Luciano, Marcocci, Alessandro, Talacchi, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain Neoplasms - complications
Brain Neoplasms - diagnosis
Brain Neoplasms - therapy
Checklist
Consensus
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurology
Neuroradiology
Neurosurgery
Psychiatry
Reproducibility of Results
Review Article
Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose To provide an exhaustive review of the neuropsychological examination as conducted in brain tumor clinical trials over the last 30 years and to provide objective ratings about the reliability and suitability of such tests in neurooncological research and clinical practice. Methods Methodologies and tools provided by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) were exploited in order to assess the measurement properties of questionnaires and performance-based instruments used to evaluate cognitive functioning in brain tumor clinical trials from 1997 to 2017. Results Twenty-six brain tumor clinical trials were analyzed and an overall set of 10 neuropsychological tests was identified. A list of 24 studies concerning the reliability of such tests was analyzed. Reliability and level of evidence scores for each study and for each test were obtained. The results revealed relevant faults about the quality of measurements and the suitability of the neurocognitive assessment batteries most commonly used in brain tumor clinical trials. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the cognitive assessment in brain tumor clinical trials should be implemented according to specific endpoints and should be addressed to investigate all the cognitive domains known to be affected by brain tumor and treatment.
ISSN:1590-1874
1590-3478
DOI:10.1007/s10072-020-04477-4