title: Pre-Morbid Developmental Vulnerabilities in Children With Newly Diagnosed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Not all children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were developing in a typical manner prior to diagnosis. Pre-existing developmental vulnerabilities (DV) may be related to long-term neuropsychological sequelae following ALL treatment, yet little is known about the prevalence or nature of prior DV in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children with newly diagnosed ALL aged 2-18 years (n = 115) were screened for DV by asking parents about the child's prior developmental history and with the Developmental Profile-3 (DP-3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six participants (23% of total sample) screened positive for prior DV, with one or more of the following: delayed early motor and/or language milestones that required intervention (n = 17), prior diagnosis of Down syndrome (n = 3), prior diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (n = 1), prior diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or learning disability (n = 6), or prior neurological conditions (n = 5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A sizable proportion of children with newly diagnosed ALL have pre-morbid DV that could potentially make them more vulnerable to reduced educational opportunities during treatment and neurotoxic late effects following treatment. Identification of the subset of children with ALL and DV is essential to direct early interventions and to study their long-term outcomes.
authors: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Laura A
authors: LA
authors: Janzen
authors: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Dana
authors: D
authors: David
authors: The Clinic on Dupont, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Darlene
authors: D
authors: Walker
authors: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Johann
authors: J
authors: Hitzler
authors: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Sue
authors: S
authors: Zupanec
authors: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Heather
authors: H
authors: Jones
authors: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Brenda J
authors: BJ
authors: Spiegler
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy
keywords: ALL; behavioral studies; late effects of cancer treatment