Sex-specific attention problems in long-term survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

Background: Neurocognitive problems are a frequent outcome of chemotherapy for pediatric leukemia, although individual differences exist in patient outcome. Sex of the patient and age at diagnosis are 2 characteristics that have been associated with differential outcomes. The relation between these patient characteristics and specific attention deficits (ie, initiating, inhibiting, shifting, focusing, sustaining attention, and working memory) has not been well researched. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pattern of attention problems in male and female long-term survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Methods: One hundred three long-term survivors (ie, >or=5 years from diagnosis; 51% boys, mean age at diagnosis of 3.9 years, and mean time since diagnosis 7.5 years) completed standardized measures of basic and complex attention skills related to anterior (ie, inhibition, shifting attention, working memory), posterior (ie, focusing), and subcortical brain systems (ie, sustaining).

Results: Treatment intensity was related to sustained attention, with those patients treated on high-risk protocols displaying significantly lower performance. Girls performed worse than boys on measures related to the anterior attention system (ie, shifting attention, P<.042) and the subcortical attention system (ie, sustained attention, P<.001), whereas boys performed worse than girls on different measures of anterior control (ie, inhibition, P<.039; working memory, P<.003).

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that children diagnosed with and treated for pediatric ALL perform poorly on select measures of attention and executive control, and that this performance is influenced by sex and treatment intensity.