Published 2025-12-19
Keywords
- Aphasia, Brain neoplasm, Speech therapy.
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2025 Federica Ascione
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Objective: The term “aphasia” refers to an acquired language disorder resulting from damage to brain structures involved in the processing of various aspects of linguistic competence. It manifests as a partial or total loss of the complex processes of language comprehension and production, due to focal brain damage affecting a wide network of cortical and subcortical structures in the language-dominant hemisphere, which is left in most individuals.
Among the different etiologies, brain tumors represent a cause of particular clinical relevance, both for the progressive characteristics of the underlying pathology and for the associated rehabilitation implications.
This work aims to systematically analyze the available scientific literature on brain tumor–related aphasia, with particular attention to the role of speech therapy, in order to provide a clear and structured overview of the current state of knowledge.
Methods: The review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) to ensure methodological transparency and reproducibility. The bibliographic search was performed on the PubMed database using a search string combining the keywords “Aphasia” and “Brain Neoplasms,” with predefined inclusion criteria.
Results: Three studies, all case reports, were included. They describe heterogeneous aphasic patterns, related to the tumor’s nature, location, and progression, as well as the effects of surgical and oncological treatments. In all cases, speech therapy played a central role through direct rehabilitation interventions, compensatory strategies, long-term monitoring, and support for neuroplasticity, particularly in pediatric patients.
Conclusions: Despite the limited number of available studies, the evidence suggests that speech therapy is a crucial component in the management of patients with brain tumor–related aphasia. Rehabilitation should be personalized, multimodal, and integrated throughout the clinical pathway. However, current literature highlights a significant lack of systematic studies on this topic; future research with larger samples, standardized protocols, and longitudinal follow-ups is therefore needed to establish more robust rehabilitation approaches.
References
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