A meta‐analysis of the neuropsychological effects of chemotherapy in the treatment of childhood cancer

Abstract

These deficits in attentional capacity have implications related to the academic success of these children. Given the potential for remediation strategies within this domain, neuropsychological assessment can be an integral aspect of long-term care plans of survivors of childhood cancer.

Cognitive outcomes among Latino survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma: A cross‐sectional cohort study using culturally competent, performance‐based assessment

“…Although these risk factors are well established in the general population, there is limited information about how they might modify outcomes of childhood ALL survivors. For example, in two recent meta‐analyses that summarized sociodemographic characteristics, only one‐third of the studies reported the racial/ethnic composition of their samples, and nearly 80% of the participants identified as White/Caucasian; SES was unable to be included as an analytic variable due to insufficient data reporting . Using parent‐reported measures, a single recent cohort study of Latino childhood ALL survivors identified difficulties with attention, school‐based learning, and peer relationships …”

“…[4][5][6][7] Two recent meta-analyses suggest that even in the context of modern regimens where routine use of cranial irradiation is sharply reduced, ALL survivors treated only with chemotherapy still show cognitive impairment, particularly in attention and executive functioning. 8,9 Due to similarities in their biology, clinical behavior, effective treatment regimens, and long-term sequelae, distinction between ALL and LL is made on the basis of bone marrow involvement and is considered arbitrary. 2 Consequently, survivors of ALL and LL are typically analyzed as a single group in research concerning neurocognitive outcomes.…”

“…For example, in two recent metaanalyses that summarized sociodemographic characteristics, only onethird of the studies reported the racial/ethnic composition of their samples, and nearly 80% of the participants identified as White/Caucasian; SES was unable to be included as an analytic variable due to insufficient data reporting. 6,9 Using parent-reported measures, a single recent cohort study of Latino childhood ALL survivors identified difficulties with attention, school-based learning, and peer relationships. 20 To help address these knowledge gaps, we conducted a multidimensional study of cognitive outcomes using a combination of performance-based, parent report, and teacher report measures in a sample of Latino childhood ALL and LL survivors treated with contemporary regimens.…”

Characterizing neurocognitive late effects in childhood leukemia survivors using a combination of neuropsychological and cognitive neuroscience measures

“…Adverse outcomes have been documented by performance on neuropsychological measures and from parent ratings. Broadly speaking, deficits interfere with academic success and quality of life, including problems with memory, attention, processing speed, multitasking, and planning, which are collectively referred to as executive functions (Hearps et al, 2017;Iyer et al, 2015;Pierson, Waite, & Pyykkonen, 2016). In their review, Hearps and colleagues (2017) noted that use of relatively insensitive measures for assessment of complex, multifaceted cognitive domains such as executive function, may mask specific deficits in ALL survivors (Hearps et al, 2017).…”

“…A secondary goal was to examine correspondence between performances on neuroscience paradigms and widely used standardized measures. A range of neuropsychological tests and parent ratings were employed that target functional domains known to be affected in ALL survivors (Iyer et al, 2015;Pierson et al, 2016). ALL survivors have been shown to exhibit functional deficits on measures of intelligence (Iyer et al, 2015) and parent ratings of attention deficits and behavior (Jacola et al, 2016).…”