Intellectual, neuropsychological, and academic functioning in long-term survivors of leukemia

Objective: To assess the effects of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leuke mia (ALL) on children's cognitive functioning. Method: Participants were long-term survivors of ALL treated with cranial i rradiation and central nervous system (CNS) chemotherapy (n = 20), or CNS c hemotherapy only (n = 21), healthy children (n = 21), and children with chr onic asthma (n = 21). The groups were compared on measures of intellectual, neuropsychological, and academic functioning. Results: CNS chemotherapy, with and without cranial irradiation, was associ ated with significantly lower levels of intellectual and academic functioni ng. Children with chronic asthma obtained lower scores than healthy control s, but these differences were not significant. Tests of neuropsychological functioning did not consistently separate the groups. Conclusions: CNS chemotherapy and, to a lesser extent, chronic: illness bot h contribute to the poorer performance of long-term survivors of ALL on mea sures of intellectual and academic functioning.