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" Brain cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy may face a higher risk of accelerated mental decline in later life, new research suggests. Scientists at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam studied 65 patients, all of whom were assessed around 12 years following treatment for low-grade glioma, the most common form of brain tumour. More than half of patients who had undergone radiotherapy suffered from mental decline, compared with just 27 per cent of patients who had not. Radiotherapy patients tended to be slower at processing information and also had poorer attention than people who had received a different form of anti-cancer therapy. Writing in the Lancet Neurology, the researchers concluded: &amp;#039;The current results indicate that radiotherapy is associated with long-term cognitive deterioration, regardless of fraction dose.&amp;#039; Around 4,500 people are diagnosed with brain and central nervous system tumours each year in the UK. Gliomas account for around half of all primary brain tumours. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a18453/radiotherapy-linked-to-mental-decline/>