Objective: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common childhood malignancies, accounting for about 75% of all leukemias and a quarter all of childhood cancers, in this research we aimed at assessing neuro-cognitive consequences in children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia who have been treated with chemotherapy. Methods: 95 children aged between 6 and 12 years old completed Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC III). Sixty-one children were ALL survivors at the Pediatric Oncology Department, NCI, Cairo University compared to thirty-four were control group consisted of matching children from the same age group. Study patients have successfully accomplished their treatment protocol and were in complete remission during the evaluation for ≥ 2 years under follow up without relapse and no prediagnosis history of neuro-developmental disorder nor psychiatric disorders as evidenced by Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). Results: Subjects scored significantly below levels for their matched controls. The difference between patients and controls was significant (p < 0.001) for the following measures: Total IQ, Verbal IQ, Performance IQ scores, (84.8 ± 10 vs. 98.7 ± 10.3), (94.4 ± 13.5 vs. 110.1 ± 13.6) and (76.6 ± 10 vs. 85.5 ± 8.5) respectively. Sex was considered a risk factor where females performed worse than males in verbal IQ with significance (p-value = 0.045). Conclusions: Long-term sequels in neuro-cognitive functions were found in the chemotherapy only group, female patients were at higher risk than males; observed in the impairments of memory, attention, logical thinking and social knowledge.
Cite this paper
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