Adverse Family Outcomes in Children With B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia From the Multicenter Trial Children's Oncology Group AALL0932.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
BACKGROUND: Treatment for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) lasts >2 years and can impact families. The Children's Oncology Group multicenter therapeutic trial AALL0932 randomized patients with NCI standard-risk, average-risk B-ALL (NCI-SR AR B-ALL) to receive maintenance vincristine/dexamethasone every 4 or 12 weeks (VCR/DEX4 or VCR/DEX12, respectively). Embedded in AALL0932, this study aimed to (1) longitudinally measure adverse family outcomes overall, and (2) determine whether patients on the VCR/DEX4 regimen (vs VCR/DEX12) had fewer adverse family outcomes. METHODS: Patients with NCI-SR AR B-ALL who were offered enrollment on the multicenter randomized-controlled therapeutic trial AALL0932 were aged ≥4 years with an English-speaking parent. Parent-reported surveys were administered at T1-T5 (approximately 2, 9, 18, 26, and 38 months after diagnosis, respectively; T5 was assessed only in boys) and assessed household changes since leukemia diagnosis, leukemia-related household expenses in the past 4 weeks, unhealthy family functioning (Family Assessment Device score >2), and parents' perceived child vulnerability (Child Vulnerability Scale ≥10). Postrandomization outcomes at T3 and T4 were compared between treatment groups using generalized linear mixed models and multivariable logistic regression models, as appropriate, adjusting for race and ethnicity. RESULTS: Among 555 participants with completed evaluations, 420 were randomized (mean [SD] age, 6.0 [1.6] years; 45.7% female). At T1, 56.2% of randomized participants reported household changes since diagnosis (81.2% by T4), 88.6% reported ≥$100 in leukemia-related household expenses in the past 4 weeks (61.5% at T4), 19.0% had unhealthy family functioning (23.9% at T4), and 55.8% perceived their child as vulnerable (62.5% at T4). In multivariable models, VCR/DEX4 (vs VCR/DEX12) had an increased likelihood of reporting ≥$100 in leukemia-related expenses in the past 4 weeks (odds ratio, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.03-2.91), but other outcomes were similar between treatment arms. CONCLUSIONS: B-ALL family burdens develop early. Reducing maintenance VCR/DEX frequency may decrease expenses but not other outcomes. Interventions are needed to support families early and throughout ALL therapy.