# An Integrative Approach to Evaluate Neurocognitive Disparities in Latinos Undergoing Treatment for Childhood Leukemia.

> **NIH NIH R01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $610,229

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Latino children experience increased incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), as well as disparities
in treatment response, relapse, and survival. However, to date, there have been few studies evaluating the
impact of persistent neurocognitive symptoms on educational and economic outcomes in Latino survivors. What
has been demonstrated by our group and others is that disparities among Latino children with ALL are not fully
explained by non-genetic factors, such as differences in treatment adherence. In fact, biological factors
contribute to these outcomes: Native American genetic ancestry has been implicated in relapse among Latinos
with ALL and is related to neurotoxicity during treatment. Building from this work, we explore two unanswered
questions: 1) what is the burden of neurocognitive deficits among Latino children diagnosed with ALL relative to
non-Latino children, and 2) what is the relative contribution of clinical, socioeconomic, cultural, and biological
factors in explaining neurocognitive disparities among childhood ALL survivors. We will leverage our ongoing
Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) cohort to conduct deep neurocognitive phenotyping in
a subset of the population (N=400) diagnosed and treated for ALL – with a particular focus on Latinos, who make
up more than 50 percent of the ongoing cohort. We will model neurocognitive performance from diagnosis
through 7 years post-diagnosis by employing an accelerated longitudinal cohort design, which includes annual
assessments for: 1) newly diagnosed patients in the first years of the grant (Wave 1, n = 200); and 2) survivors
who are 3-7 years post diagnosis (Wave 2, n = 200). We also incorporate factors that have yet to be included in
models of neurocognitive outcomes among children diagnosed with ALL, such as measures of socioeconomic
status (SES), acculturation, English-language proficiency, and genetic ancestry. Our research aims are to: 1)
characterize the trajectory of neurocognitive performance in Latino children diagnosed with ALL; 2) examine the
impact of clinical, individual and neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and level of acculturation among Latinos;
and 3) assess the relative contribution of genetic ancestry to neurocognitive performance in children diagnosed
with ALL. Strengths of our approach include rigorous preliminary data, a recruitment infrastructure for enrolling
Latino patients diagnosed with ALL, existing data and samples collected as part of our ongoing REDIAL cohort,
an unparalleled research environment, and a geographical region that is ethnically and socioeconomically
diverse. This proposal has significant translational potential to improve the clinical management of
neurocognitive outcomes in this population, as it will identify children at risk for neurocognitive difficulties and in
greatest need of intervention, critical points in treatment/survivorship when intervention strategies may help to
mitigat...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10890728
- **Project number:** 5R01CA261879-03
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Austin L Brown
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $610,229
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10890728

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10890728, An Integrative Approach to Evaluate Neurocognitive Disparities in Latinos Undergoing Treatment for Childhood Leukemia. (5R01CA261879-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10890728. Licensed CC0.

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