MEMORY LOSS FOLLOWING RADIOTHERAPY FOR NASAL PHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA - AN UNUSUAL PRESENTATION OF AMNESIA

In this article we describe a patient who developed amnesia several years after receiving a second course of radiotherapy treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). Detailed assessment of memory indicated a marked anterograde impairment for verbal material with less impaired non‐verbal memory. A dense retrograde deficit was also present, reflected in both poor event memory and loss of general knowledge. Performance on other tests indicated a mild intellectual deficit but no other cognitive impairments. The findings indicate a striking memory disorder arising from late temporal lobe necrosis. These findings stress the importance of assessing neuropsychological sequelae when evaluating the long‐term outcome of radiotherapy for NPC and other cancers of the head and neck. 1991 The British Psychological Society