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Feasibility of Utilizing a Brief Neurocognitive Battery in 3-Year-Old Patients During Treatment for Acute
Sameera Ramjan1, Peter D Cole2, Melanie Blair-Thies1
1Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
Insights
Young children undergoing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment can be assessed for neurocognitive deficits using computerized tests, even at age three. This inclusion expands understanding of treatment effects on cognitive development in at-risk pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment in young children can lead to neurocognitive deficits.
- Current computerized neurocognitive assessments exclude children under four years old.
- There is a need to evaluate younger children for treatment-related cognitive effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of using computerized neurocognitive tests in three-year-old children diagnosed with ALL.
- To compare the performance of three-year-old patients with four-year-old patients on these tests.
- To determine if including younger patients improves understanding of neurocognitive trajectories during and after ALL treatment.
Main Methods:
- Patients aged three and four years, enrolled in the "Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children and Adolescents" study, participated in an optional neurocognitive assessment.
- Computerized measures were utilized for the neurocognitive evaluation.
- Performance and completion rates of the tests were analyzed for three-year-old and four-year-old participants.
Main Results:
- Three-year-old patients demonstrated comparable ability to perform and complete the computerized neurocognitive tests as four-year-old patients.
- The inclusion of three-year-old patients did not present significant challenges in test administration or completion.
- This finding supports the use of these measures in a younger pediatric oncology population.
Conclusions:
- Computerized neurocognitive assessments are feasible and effective for evaluating three-year-old children undergoing ALL treatment.
- Including three-year-old patients in neurocognitive studies enhances the understanding of cognitive development in this vulnerable group.
- This research supports the expansion of neurocognitive monitoring to younger children diagnosed with ALL to better understand their developmental trajectories.
Abstract:
Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is associated with neurocognitive deficits in young children. While computerized measures have been utilized in pediatric oncology research, they exclude patients below the age of 4 years. Patients enrolled on "Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children and Adolescents" were offered participation in an optional neurocognitive study. Three-year old patients did not differ from 4-year-old patients in their ability to perform or complete the tests. Including patients diagnosed at age 3 will serve to improve our understanding of at-risk patients and their neurocognitive trajectory both during and after treatment.
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