Cognitive Issues in Childhood Cancer Survivors and Related Parental Perceptions and Behaviors: An Integrative Review of Literature

Background: Survivorship of childhood cancer is often accompanied by neurocognitive late-effects (NCLE) related to the disease and/or it’s associated treatment regimes.

Objectives: The primary purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine NCLE in pediatric cancer survivors and identify parental perceptions and behaviors that correlated to cognitive dysfunction in their children.

Method: An integrative literature review was completed utilizing searches in PubMed, CINAHL Complete, and PsycINFO. Some search terms included “childhood cancer”, “survivor”, “cognition”, “cognitive disorder”, “neurocognitive”, “late-effects”, “child(ren)”, “parent(s)”, and “perception”.

Results: Analysis of ten predominant methods of neurocognitive evaluation yielded five major cognitive deficit measures in pediatric cancer survivors: attention, working memory, processing speed, full scale IQ, and academic ability. Further analysis determined that parents exhibit five distinct types of perceptions and behaviors related to NCLE.

Conclusion: The identification of those major NCLE measurements, cognitive deficit trends, and correlating parental behaviors and perceptions could have significant implications for how cognitive deficits in childhood cancer survivors are treated within the family dynamic in the future.