Brain network hubs and cognitive performance of survivors of childhood infratentorial tumors

Highlights: • Long-term decreased intelligence in posterior fossa tumor survivors. • Long-term diffuse changes in white matter microstructure. • Stronger brain areas or hubs appear mostly affected in their nodal strength. • Nodal strength of the hubs are strongly correlated with long-term IQ scores. Childhood infratentorial tumor patients frequently suffer from long-term cognitive deficits. As each constituent of their treatment can lead to neurotoxicity, cascade effects can lead to profound reorganization of the underlying brain network, the so-called 'connectome'. However, to date, few studies have assessed the relationship between brain network topology, the functional role of network hubs (i.e. highly connected regions), and neurocognitive outcomes in adult survivors of childhood infratentorial tumors.