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Motor performance of children during treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
H Reinders-Messelink1, M Schoemaker, T Snijders
1Children's Cancer Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. W.A.Kamps@Med.Rug.nl
Insights
Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) experience motor skill deficits during treatment. While balance issues improved post-therapy, fine motor problems increased, with a potential link to vincristine neurotoxicity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Children undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) often face challenges with daily motor skills.
- The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC) is a tool used to evaluate these motor skills.
- Vincristine, a common chemotherapy agent, is investigated for its potential impact on motor function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the motor skills of children with ALL during treatment.
- To investigate the relationship between motor skill deficits and vincristine treatment in pediatric ALL patients.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 17 children (aged 4-12 years) treated for ALL was compared to an age- and sex-matched control group.
- Motor skills were evaluated using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC).
- Data were analyzed to identify specific areas of motor impairment and track changes over time.
Main Results:
- Children with ALL demonstrated poorer performance in both fine and gross motor skills compared to controls.
- Balance problems were most significant at the end of induction therapy.
- While balance issues decreased six months after reinduction therapy, fine motor problems showed an increase.
Conclusions:
- A potential association between gross motor deficits and vincristine neurotoxicity was observed descriptively.
- Statistical analysis did not confirm a significant relationship between vincristine and gross motor problems.
- The study highlights evolving motor skill challenges in children with ALL during and after treatment.
Background:
Daily life motor skills of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were studied during treatment using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). In addition, the possible relation with vincristine treatment was investigated.
Procedure:
Seventeen children treated for ALL, aged 4-12 years, were compared to an age- and sex-matched control group.
Results:
The leukemia group performed more poorly than the control group on both fine and gross motor skills. In looking at the number of children with ALL who scored in the clinical range of the different subtests, problems in balance skills were found to be most pronounced at the end of induction therapy. Remarkably, half a year after reinduction therapy, problems with balance had decreased, whereas the number of children with fine motor problems had increased.
Conclusions:
A relation between the gross motor problems and vincristine neurotoxicity seems plausible based on a descriptive analysis of the data, but this was not supported statistically.