Naming Abilities of Children Treated for Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia

Indices of Language Outcome 11 Years After Intrathecal Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Sibling Case-Control Study

“…The importance of language skills to maximizing success in academic, social, and vocational engagement is recognized [4][5][6][7], as is the importance to language skills of the cognitive environment in which the child develops [16]. The current understanding of the impact upon language skill development of CNS-directed treatments administered for ALL is based on treatment protocols with reduced contemporary relevance [8][9][10][11] or based on findings where control cohorts have not been matched on important environmental variables known to strongly influence developmental language outcomes [12]. The present pilot study, the first survivor-focused language study to apply the deconfounding principle by using a sibling as a control, identified comparable language skills between a child treated with ITC 11 years prior and his non-ITC-treated sibling.…”

“…Some studies have reported that the N400 varies across the life span where the N400 is inversely correlated with age, with larger N400 amplitudes found in children than in adults and the elderly [56,57]. However, given Gonzalez-Garrido et al's [58] findings that showed no differences in N400 amplitude or latency amongst children of [7][8][9][10], and 11-12 years of age, it would be expected that, despite the age difference, the N400 between ACB and his sibling would be comparable.…”