Who can enter
- Children/adolescents who have had a brain tumor in the past and have previously participated in the CCISS study
- Age: children and young adults
Goal
The goal of the CCISS Next study is to investigate whether children and young adults who have had a brain tumor experience problems with vision or with the eyes. We are also investigating whether an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scan, a scan of the retina (the back part of the eye that is important for vision), can predict ophthalmological functions. In addition, we are looking at the quality of life of children and adolescents after treatment for a brain tumor with several questionnaires. One of the questionnaires focuses specifically on ophthalmological complaints and their impact on daily life.
With all this information, we hope to establish guidelines for the ophthalmological follow-up of children after a brain tumor.
Background
Previous research has shown that some of the children with a brain tumor have eye symptoms or worse vision because of the brain tumor or its treatment. The ophthalmologist can monitor the eyes of these children with various tests. Limited research has been done on the eyes of children and adolescents a long time after the diagnosis and/or treatment of a brain tumor. In addition, there is no clear agreement in the world about how often children who have had a brain tumor should see an ophthalmologist for check-ups. Also, many different ophthalmological tests are used, making it difficult to compare the outcomes of the tests properly.
The overall purpose of this study is to get information about the eyes of children and adolescents who had a brain tumor 4-5 years ago. In addition to standard ophthalmological tests (visual acuity, visual field), we also want to do an OCT scan. Within the previous CCISS study, OCT scans of the child's eyes have been repeatedly made. With this follow-up study, we want to perform this scan once again to compare the outcome of the scan with the previous scans. With the results of this follow-up study, we hope to be able to develop future guidelines for ophthalmological checkups for children who have (had) a brain tumor.
We will ask the children and adolescents who have previously participated in the CCISS study to come for another one-time check-up with the ophthalmologist. We will do a standard ophthalmological check-up (visual acuity, visual field) and perform an OCT scan (scan of the retina). The OCT scan is not harmful and does not hurt. The check-up takes about 30-40 minutes. Around the time of the eye doctor's appointment, we will send a questionnaire about how the participant and his/her eyes are doing. Filling out the questionnaire takes about 20 minutes.
Participating in the CCISS Next study means a single visit to the ophthalmologist. If the participant is still under observation by the ophthalmologist, he/she does not need to come extra. We can use this standard check-up for the CCISS Next study. If the participant no longer is in follow-up with the ophthalmologist, we will ask him/her to come to the hospital once. We will try to combine this ophthalmological appointment with another appointment at the Máxima.