Characterization of Leukoencephalopathy and Association With Later Neurocognitive Performance in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

This study aims to objectively characterize the prevalence, extent, and intensity of LE, and their association with later neurocognitive performance. Materials and Methods Pediatric patients (N = 377) treated for ALL without irradiation underwent MR neuroimaging at 4 time points throughout therapy (end of remission induction [MR1], end of consolidation [MR2], and week 31 [MR3] and week 120 [end therapy, MR4] of continuation treatment) and neurocognitive evaluations at the end of therapy and 2 years later. Generalized estimation equation models with logit link were developed to explore the association between LE prevalence and extent with time points throughout therapy, age at diagnosis (≤5 years or>5 years), treatment risk arm (low risk or standard/high risk), and sex. General linear models were also developed to investigate the association between neuroimaging metrics during treatment and neurocognitive performance at 2-year follow-up. Results The prevalence of LE was greatest (22.8%, 74/324) after consolidation therapy. The prevalence of LE increased at MR2 relative to MR1 regardless of treatment risk arm (both P's
Source: Investigative Radiology - Category: Radiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research