Neurocognitive and Psychosocial Outcomes in Survivors of Childhood Leukemia With Down Syndrome

Survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at risk for neurocognitive deficits, reduced educational and psychosocial outcomes, and lower quality of life. Neurocognitive assessment is frequently implemented during therapy and continued into survivorship to monitor functioning and to facilitate intervention. Children with Down Syndrome (DS) are at 10 to 20-fold increased risk for leukemia. Survival rates for leukemia patients with DS are comparable to or lower than patients without DS, however, these patients are at greater risk for treatment-related toxicities. Children with preexisting neurodevelopmental conditions, including DS, are systematically excluded from neurocognitive assessment on clinical trials, contributing to a gap in the investigators understanding of outcomes in these patients with preexisting neurocognitive vulnerability. The investigators propose a novel preliminary investigation of functional outcomes in children with DS and childhood leukemia. This study has implications for future treatment of leukemia patients with DS, and may generalize to leukemia patients with other predispositions or preexisting neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., genetic disorders, acquired brain injury, autism, and epilepsy).

Primary Objective:

• To describe neurocognitive and psychosocial outcomes in survivors of childhood leukemia with Down Syndrome using a novel assessment approach.