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Preserved executive functioning and low stress symptoms in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Priscilla Brandi Gomes Godoy1, Claudia Berlim de Mello1, Sabine Pompéia1
1Departamento de Psicobiologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Insights
Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) treatment did not impair executive function or increase stress in survivors. Higher resilience and better executive function correlated with fewer stress symptoms in these young patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Oncology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Pediatric cancer treatment, particularly Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), may negatively affect cognitive and psychosocial development.
- Higher resilience and executive functioning might mitigate adverse effects of cancer treatment in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of ALL treatment on executive function, resilience, and stress in survivors.
- To explore correlations between executive functioning and resilience, and between executive functioning and stress in pediatric ALL survivors.
Main Methods:
- Neuropsychological assessment of 32 ALL survivors (aged 7-17) and 28 controls, evaluating inhibitory control, mental flexibility, and working memory.
- Self-report scales were used to measure stress symptoms and resilience in both groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in executive function or stress symptoms were found between ALL survivors and the control group.
- In ALL survivors, executive function positively correlated with resilience and negatively correlated with stress.
- Better performance in mental flexibility and inhibition tasks was associated with lower stress and higher resilience.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric ALL treatment in this sample was not linked to executive function impairment or increased stress.
- Executive functioning and resilience appear interconnected with stress levels in pediatric ALL survivors, suggesting potential protective mechanisms.
Abstract:
Pediatric cancer treatment can negatively impact cognitive and psychosocial development, although it has been suggested that these adverse effects may be minimized when children have higher resilience and better executive functioning. We aimed to evaluate the impact of pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) treatment on executive function, resilience and stress in survivors and to investigate correlations between executive functioning and resilience and between executive functioning and stress. The neuropsychological assessment was performed in 32 ALL survivors aged 7-17 years and 28 age-, sex- and socioeconomic status matched controls. Executive functioning was assessed by inhibitory control, mental flexibility and working memory tasks. Children's self-report scales were used to assess stress symptoms and resilience. Results revealed no executive function impairment nor stress symptom differences between ALL survivors and control group. In the ALL group, executive function and resilience were positively correlated, whereas executive function and stress were negatively correlated. We concluded that ALL treatment was not associated with impairment in executive functioning nor to increased stress symptoms in our sample. ALL survivors with better performance in mental flexibility and inhibition tasks reported fewer stress symptoms and more resilience, indicating a possible relationship between these variables.
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