Neurocognitive Battery Feasible in 3-Year-Olds During Leukemia Treatment

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A brief neurocognitive battery is feasible for use in 3-year-olds during acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, according to a study published online Dec. 9 in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

Sameera Ramjan, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues offered patients enrolled in the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children and Adolescents participation in an optional neurocognitive study assessing longitudinal changes in neurocognitive function. The analysis included 3- and 4-year-old patients enrolled in the study.

The researchers found that 3-year-old patients did not differ from 4-year-olds in terms of their ability to perform or complete the brief Cogstate battery assessing psychomotor function (detection) and attention (identification). These findings persisted at four time-point assessments, through 52 weeks after diagnosis.

“This report demonstrates that computerized testing, such as Cogstate, can be successfully administered to 3-year-old patients who are undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, thereby capturing serial test data on a vulnerable patient population that, in prior studies, have demonstrated worse neurocognitive deficits,” the authors write. “Consequently, changing future study inclusion criteria to include patients diagnosed at the age of 3 years will ultimately serve to improve our understanding of at-risk patients and the neurocognitive trajectory of this age group both during treatment as well as into survivorship, thereby leading to the development of early interventions.”

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry; two authors disclosed ties to Cogstate.

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