Authors: Sharon M Castellino Janet A Tooze Lynn Flowers Susan K Parsons
Publish Date: 2011/01/12
Volume: 104, Issue: 2, Pages: 559-563
Abstract
Minimal acceptable global intelligence is often a determinant for entry into studies utilizing children’s selfreported healthrelated quality of life HRQL or symptoms’ appraisal However most measures of cognitive functioning are lengthy and require a trained psychologist for administration We used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test third edition PPVTIII to assess adequacy of verbal comprehension and language flexibility before entry into a pilot pharmacologic intervention trial in pediatric BT survivors who were 1 year from treatment and received 234 gray as part of therapy Participation included the ability to complete selfreported measures of HRQL Among thirteen BT survivors who were screened twelve proceeded to the full intervention trial and then underwent a detailed baseline neurocognitive assessment including the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence WASI administered by a neuropsychologist Correlation of PPVTIII with WASI was 090 for full scale IQ P 00001 089 for verbal IQ P = 00001 and 075 for performance IQ P = 00004 The PPVTIII is easy to administer by trained clinical staff and is a reliable clinicbased screening tool for research studies While it is not designed to replace in depth neuropsychological evaluation of potential areas of cognitive dysfunction it provides an estimation of minimal global cognitive functioning for entry into studies that rely on selfreport in childhood BT survivors and other cancer survivors who have received central nervous systemdirected therapyWe thank the patients and families who participated in this pilot study We also thank Dr Kevin McMullen for facilitating patient accrual and Dr Edward Shaw for senior mentorship All authors read and approved the final version of the article Funding for this work was provided by the Lance Armstrong Foundation Young Investigator Award to SMC and the National Institutes of Health R25 CA122061 to SMC P30CA12197JAT
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