ABSTRACT Neurocognitive deficits in adult survivors of childhood cancer are well established, but less is known about developmental disorders (DD) arising shortly after cancer diagnosis. Using 2016–2019 linked Ohio cancer registry and Medicaid data, we compared DD among 324 children with cancer and 606,913 cancer‐free controls. Pre‐diagnosis, DD prevalence was similar (16% vs. 16.9%). However, post‐diagnosis, children with cancer had over twice the risk of DD (ARR 2.09, 95% CI 1.55–2.83) across developmental domains. These findings reveal that DD emerges soon after cancer diagnosis, potentially related to treatment and/or secondary toxicities and highlight the need for early screening and rehabilitative intervention.
Shoag et al. (Fri,) studied this question.