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The Impact of Chemotherapy on Memory Function and the Development of Traumatic Symptoms in Children With Cancer

NCT01108952 · Status: UNKNOWN · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 45

Last updated 2010-04-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background: While treatment for pediatric cancer has improved significantly over the past 40 years, the neurotoxic side-effects of the chemotherapy agents themselves are now being recognized. Two drugs suspected of having acute impact on memory performance in children are methotrexate (MTX) and steroids (GCs). In addition, new evidence suggests that this neurotoxicity might actually protect these children from traumatization.

Working hypothesis and aims: This project aims to examine the acute impact of MTX and GC chemotherapy on memory performance in children and young adults with cancer, and the subsequent impact on the development of traumatic symptoms. We hypothesize that MTX and GCs will each produce acute declines in memory performance and that children with greater reductions in memory performance will have fewer traumatic symptoms.

Methods: The investigators will recruit 45 children being treated with MTX or GCs at Dana Children's Hospital. To determine acute impact on memory, a battery of memory tests will be administered before and after a cycle of MTX and before and after a cycle of GCs. In addition, traumatic symptoms will be assessed at each post-chemotherapy evaluation point Expected results: The investigators expect poorer memory performance after MTX and after GCs and that these performance declines will correlate with lower rates of traumatic symptoms.

Importance: The immediate impact of MTX and GCs on memory is not well known, especially in children. In addition, recent findings have led us to hypothesize that chemotherapy-induced deficits in memory function would paradoxically protect these patients from the traumatization often associated with cancer and its treatment. The proposed study will test this novel hypothesis for the first time.

Conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Herzog Hospital

    collaborator OTHER

  • Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

    lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

  • Ronit Elhasid, MD · Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Eligibility

Min Age
6 Years
Max Age
25 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2011-01-31
Primary Completion
2013-12-31
Completion
2013-12-31

Countries

  • Israel

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01108952 on ClinicalTrials.gov