OICR-supported research is exploring how chemotherapy impacts brain development in the hopes of reducing side effects for children.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children. It is also one of the most treatable, with a five-year survival rate of about 94 per cent.

But the multi-phased course of chemotherapy used to treat children with ALL may have a negative impact on their brain development and put kids at risk of long-term cognitive or behavioural problems.

Through research supported by OICR and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dr. Brian Nieman of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is exploring how chemotherapy affects childhood brain development to find safer ways to treat children with ALL.

In Nieman’s latest published study, he and colleagues at SickKids and the University of Toronto showed that chemotherapy administered intrathecally (through the spine) is less harmful to brain development in mice than when it’s administered intravenously.

Now, he and colleagues are conducting two related studies: one to observe children treated for ALL with chemotherapy to better understand its impact on their brain development, and another to identify genetic factors that might put children at higher risk of side effects impacting brain development — known as ‘neurotoxicity’.

“Our goal is to identify which kids are most likely to experience neurotoxicity before it happens,” says Nieman, whose research was supported by an OICR Investigator Award. “Then ultimately, we hope those children can receive modified treatment or additional support that reduces their risk of life-altering side effects.”