Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center

Context: Overall cure rates for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved; however, the neuropsychological sequelae of ALL treatment have not been adequately documented in India. Aims: The present study assesses the immediate effects of ALL treatment on neuropsychological functionin...

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Main Authors: Sundaramoorthy Chidambaram, Arun Seshachalam, Vidhubala Elangovan, Rejiv Rajendranath
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2014-01-01
Series:Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ijmpo.org/article.asp?issn=0971-5851;year=2014;volume=35;issue=4;spage=281;epage=287;aulast=Chidambaram
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author Sundaramoorthy Chidambaram
Arun Seshachalam
Vidhubala Elangovan
Rejiv Rajendranath
author_facet Sundaramoorthy Chidambaram
Arun Seshachalam
Vidhubala Elangovan
Rejiv Rajendranath
author_sort Sundaramoorthy Chidambaram
collection DOAJ
description Context: Overall cure rates for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved; however, the neuropsychological sequelae of ALL treatment have not been adequately documented in India. Aims: The present study assesses the immediate effects of ALL treatment on neuropsychological functioning, at the Regional Cancer Center in Chennai, South India. Materials and Methods: Newly diagnosed with ALL patients (n = 24) (aged 6-15 years; 13M:11F) registered between March 2008 and February 2009 were included. Patients who had received high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) and cranial radiotherapy (CRT) as part of their treatment were enrolled for the study. Neurocognitive assessments were done to assess various functions such as performance intelligence, visuo-perception, visuo-spatial, perceptual organization, processing speed, planning, working memory, and immediate verbal memory (IVM) (Malin′s intelligence scale); verbal fluency (ideation fluency test) and verbal attention (vigilance test). Three assessments were done during induction (baseline), after re-induction phase (second) and during the maintenance phase (third). Results: The patients performed significantly worse in the third assessment (mean duration from diagnosis 17.48 months) on performance intelligence quotient (PIQ), visuo-perception, visuo-spatial, processing speed, planning, IVM, verbal attention, and verbal fluency (P < 0.05), there were no significant changes observed in visuo-perceptual organization and working memory (P > 0.05). Significant difference was observed between age groups 6 and 10 (41.7%) and 11-15 years (58.3%) in perceptual organization, verbal fluency, and verbal attention (P < 0.05) and no gender difference was observed across the three assessments (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Combining HD MTX and CRT had an immediate effect on neuropsychological sequelae among the children with ALL, however, long-term evaluation is recommended to study the long-term effects.
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spelling doaj-art-03e7786e05fa413f99fa1044725c9c0d2025-08-20T03:09:41ZengThieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology0971-58512014-01-0135428128710.4103/0971-5851.144990Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer centerSundaramoorthy ChidambaramArun SeshachalamVidhubala ElangovanRejiv RajendranathContext: Overall cure rates for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved; however, the neuropsychological sequelae of ALL treatment have not been adequately documented in India. Aims: The present study assesses the immediate effects of ALL treatment on neuropsychological functioning, at the Regional Cancer Center in Chennai, South India. Materials and Methods: Newly diagnosed with ALL patients (n = 24) (aged 6-15 years; 13M:11F) registered between March 2008 and February 2009 were included. Patients who had received high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) and cranial radiotherapy (CRT) as part of their treatment were enrolled for the study. Neurocognitive assessments were done to assess various functions such as performance intelligence, visuo-perception, visuo-spatial, perceptual organization, processing speed, planning, working memory, and immediate verbal memory (IVM) (Malin′s intelligence scale); verbal fluency (ideation fluency test) and verbal attention (vigilance test). Three assessments were done during induction (baseline), after re-induction phase (second) and during the maintenance phase (third). Results: The patients performed significantly worse in the third assessment (mean duration from diagnosis 17.48 months) on performance intelligence quotient (PIQ), visuo-perception, visuo-spatial, processing speed, planning, IVM, verbal attention, and verbal fluency (P < 0.05), there were no significant changes observed in visuo-perceptual organization and working memory (P > 0.05). Significant difference was observed between age groups 6 and 10 (41.7%) and 11-15 years (58.3%) in perceptual organization, verbal fluency, and verbal attention (P < 0.05) and no gender difference was observed across the three assessments (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Combining HD MTX and CRT had an immediate effect on neuropsychological sequelae among the children with ALL, however, long-term evaluation is recommended to study the long-term effects.http://www.ijmpo.org/article.asp?issn=0971-5851;year=2014;volume=35;issue=4;spage=281;epage=287;aulast=ChidambaramAcute lymphoblastic leukemiacentral nervous system prophylaxischemotherapycranial radiationneuro-cognitive functions
spellingShingle Sundaramoorthy Chidambaram
Arun Seshachalam
Vidhubala Elangovan
Rejiv Rajendranath
Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
central nervous system prophylaxis
chemotherapy
cranial radiation
neuro-cognitive functions
title Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
title_full Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
title_fullStr Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
title_full_unstemmed Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
title_short Immediate treatment effects of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
title_sort immediate treatment effects of high dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation on neuropsychological functions of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional cancer center
topic Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
central nervous system prophylaxis
chemotherapy
cranial radiation
neuro-cognitive functions
url http://www.ijmpo.org/article.asp?issn=0971-5851;year=2014;volume=35;issue=4;spage=281;epage=287;aulast=Chidambaram
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