Therapeutic improvements have resulted in long-term survival rates exceeding 90% of children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. As the population of patients who survive beyond their initial diagnosis continues to grow, improving the quality of life for these survivors becomes increasingly important. Unfortunately, many survivors of childhood leukemia suffer from adverse treatment-related neurocognitive impairment. Prevention of such impairment could result in improvements in daily functioning, academic performance, and quality of life for survivors of childhood leukemia. Although neurocognitive impairment is a well-established consequence of moder...

Read More

Therapeutic improvements have resulted in long-term survival rates exceeding 90% of children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. As the population of patients who survive beyond their initial diagnosis continues to grow, improving the quality of life for these survivors becomes increasingly important. Unfortunately, many survivors of childhood leukemia suffer from adverse treatment-related neurocognitive impairment. Prevention of such impairment could result in improvements in daily functioning, academic performance, and quality of life for survivors of childhood leukemia. Although neurocognitive impairment is a well-established consequence of modern leukemia chemotherapy, the mechanisms which lead to neurocognitive deficits are poorly understood. The lack of mechanistic insight is a major barrier to improving cognitive outcomes in these patients. This study is the first of its kind and seeks to identify biomarkers of neurocognitive impairment in a recently treated, well-characterized population of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients. Specifically, this study will: 1) evaluate change in neurocognitive function over the first decade post-treatment in a multi-ethnic population, 2) evaluate biomarkers of neurocognitive performance using cerebrospinal fluid samples collected from patients during therapy; and 3) identify genetic drivers of susceptibility to adverse neurocognitive outcomes. This research could characterize the natural history of treatment-related neurocognitive impairment and uncover important biomarkers to distinguish patients at high risk for neurocognitive impairment. The results of this study are expected to have a significant positive impact on the long-term quality-of-life of childhood cancer survivors by aiding in identifying high risk patients who may benefit from targeted interventions to preserve neurocognitive functioning.

Read Less