Grant: Project Grant

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer that affects the white blood cells and is the most common cancer affecting children. Thanks to many advances in treatment, most children diagnosed with ALL will survive. The treatments needed to cure ALL, however, are toxic because they are directed at the brain and therefore negatively impact survivor's health and psychological well-being. Survivors of ALL experience social difficulties. As children, these survivors do not have as many friends because they are more withdrawn. As adults, these survivors are less likely to go as far in school, have a job or be married compared to others who have not had ALL. In recent years there have been efforts to reduce the toxicity of treatment for ALL. We do not yet understand how less toxic treatments might effect the social difficulties of survivors. We need to understand this in order to find the best way to treat these problems. Social difficulties are a serious health risk that may be comparable to the health risks associated with drinking and smoking. The goal of the current study is to better understand the social difficulties in survivors of pediatric ALL treated with less toxic treatments. Methods: One hundred and twenty survivors of pediatric ALL and 120 survivors of solid tumours who have not received brain-directed therapy will be invited to participate and complete tests that will assess aspects of their social function. Their parents, teachers and classroom peers will also complete measures designed to assess social function. We will assess other factors that might be related to social function such as mental health. Expected Results: This study will increase our knowledge about the social functioning of survivors of pediatric ALL as well as to identify factors that might be related to their social function. This will help us identify which survivors may be at greatest risk of social difficulties and design better treatments to help these survivors.