Learning problems in childhood cancer

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Certain treatments for childhood cancer are known to cause learning problems in survivors, particularly when central nervous system (CNS)-directed therapies are used (e.g. cranial radiation; high-dose methotrexate or cytarabine; or intrathecal chemotherapy). As the mortality rates of childhood cancers have plummeted since effective treatment regiments have been introduced, greater attention has been paid to the effect of treatment on neurocognitive morbidity and quality of life of survivors. The goal of treatment for childhood cancers today is to minimize these adverse "late effects", while ensuring long-term survival.^[1]