Developmental and adaptive functioning of very young children with solid tumors and brain tumors

Infancy/toddlerhood is a period of rapid development. All infants/toddlers (0-36 months-of-age) undergoing cancer-directed treatment at one hospital are offered developmental assessments and related services. Yet, literature comparing development of infants/toddlers with brain tumors to those with non-CNS solid tumors is sparse.

Developmental assessment data were abstracted from electronic health records of infants/toddlers undergoing treatment for a brain tumor (n = 36; mean age = 21.83 ± 9.96 months) or a solid tumor (n = 40; mean age = 17.35 ± 8.50). Z-scores compared obtained data with age expectations. Chi-square analyses assessed whether a greater proportion of participants scored within the clinical range than normative expectations. Multivariate analysis of variance and chi-square analyses compared developmental outcomes between groups.

Compared with age expectations, the overall group demonstrated significantly less well-developed skills. Infants/toddlers with solid tumors demonstrated clinical deficits at rates higher than expected for most domains; the rate of impairment for the solid tumor group did not differ significantly from that of the brain tumor group across most subtests.

Like young patients with brain tumors, the developmental functioning of infants/toddlers with solid tumors should be studied across time to determine the trajectory of functioning for these young patients and to inform future developmental intervention studies.

Infants/toddlers with a malignant solid tumor may be at increased risk for delayed development. These very young patients would likely benefit from developmental assessment, early intervention services during and after treatment, and ongoing monitoring of development across time.