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NCT Number: NCT05702645

A Study to Learn More About the Health of Persons With Down Syndrome After Treatment for Acute Leukemia

This study attempts to learn more about the health of persons with Down syndrome after treatment for acute leukemia. Children with Down syndrome are at increased risk for side effects during treatment for acute leukemia, but it is unclear of their risk for long-term effects of cancer treatment. By learning more about the factors that may contribute to chronic health conditions and long-term effects after treatment for leukemia in persons with Down syndrome, clinical practice guidelines for survivorship care can be developed to help improve their quality-of-life.

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Key information

About this study

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine the prevalence, type, and severity of chronic health conditions (CHC) in survivors of Down syndrome-associated acute leukemia (DS-AL), and to compare CHC with frequency-matched DS individuals that have no cancer history.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To characterize post-treatment clinical outcomes of DS-AL by prospective, in-person assessment.

II. To determine the prevalence and severity of parent-reported adverse neuropsychological (NP) outcomes in survivors of DS-AL, compared with frequency-matched DS individuals with no cancer history.

III. To determine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in survivors of DS-AL, compared with frequency-matched DS individuals with no cancer history.

IV. To identify clinical risk determinants of CHC, NP, and clinical outcomes in survivors of DS-AL.

V. To establish a well-annotated cohort of survivors of DS-AL and associated biobank as a resource for future investigations.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. For DS-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (DS-ALL), test if structural birth defects and genetic associations with etiology extend to CHC.

II. For DS-ALL, test if telomere length determined by polygenic risk score and telomere flow-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are associated with outcomes from in-person NP assessment.

OUTLINE:

Patients undergo an optional saliva/buccal swab in part 1 and clinical assessment in part 2 of the study. Patients with DS-ALL may then undergo blood sample collection and neurocognitive assessment in part 3 of the study.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients age >= 6 and < 40 years at the time of enrollment
  • A diagnosis of Down syndrome is required, and may include any of the three recognized types: trisomy 21 resulting from chromosomal nondisjunction (most common), translocation (the patient has 46 chromosomes, but all or part of an additional copy of chromosome 21 is attached to another chromosome), or mosaicism (trisomy 21 that is present in only a fraction of cells)
  • All patients must be DS-AL survivors (acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL] or acute myeloid leukemia [AML])
  • Note 1: Myeloid leukemia of Down syndrome (ML-DS) is included in the AML category above. Per the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of ML-DS, this diagnosis encompasses both myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and overt AML. Also, note that survivors of relapsed disease are eligible, so long as the patient otherwise meets eligibility criteria, i.e., treatment for relapse was completed at least 36 calendar months prior to enrollment and did not include stem cell transplant
  • Note 2: A diagnosis of transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM), also known as transient myeloproliferative disease (TMD), is not alone sufficient for inclusion in this study
  • Patients must have been treated for ALL or AML
  • Note: History of COG therapeutic trial participation is not required. As a reminder ML-DS would be included under the AML category here above
  • All cancer treatment (oral or intravenous) must have been completed at least 36 calendar months prior to enrollment
  • Patients must have a life expectancy of > 1 year
  • Patient and parent of subject must be either English or Spanish speaking. At least one parent or guardian must be able to read and write in English or Spanish
  • Note: Parents or guardians are responsible for completing all questionnaires, even in the case of subjects that are >= 18 years old
  • All patients and/or their parents or legal guardians must sign a written informed consent
  • All institutional, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Cancer Institute (NCI) requirements for human studies must be met

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients with history of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) are excluded
  • Note: Patients with previous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy, and other cellular cancer therapies can participate, as long as all other eligibility criteria are satisfied
  • Patients with a history of cancers prior to their ALL or AML diagnosis are excluded. Patients that developed a subsequent malignant neoplasm following their ALL or AML diagnosis are also excluded
  • Note: Prior history of transient abnormal myelopoiesis is allowed, but is not sufficient for eligibility
  • Patients whose parents or guardians are unable to complete the required forms are excluded

Treatment and study plan

Biospecimen Collection

Procedure

Patients undergo saliva/buccal and blood sample collection

Other names: Biological Sample Collection, Biospecimen Collected, Specimen Collection

Clinical evaluation

Other

Undergo a clinical assessment

Other names: Clinical Assessment

Neurocognitive Assessment

Other

Undergo neurocognitive assessment

Questionnaire Administration

Other

Ancillary studies

Survey Administration

Other

Ancillary studies

Primary outcomes

  1. Prevalence, type, and severity of chronic health conditions (CHC)

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    Summary statistics will be used to characterize the study populations on CHC outcomes. Quantitative data (number of comorbidities) will be summarized using descriptive statistics and correlational techniques. Will use pooled logistic regression to estimate overall response, 95% confidence interval (CI), and p-values for association of acute leukemia (AL) diagnosis with medical record-verified CHC, agnostic of time to CHC. Will use stratified Cox models to refine associations of AL diagnosis with CHC based on time to CHC incidence. Within each age interval, will estimate the hazard ratio, 95% CI, and p-values to report time-dependent effects of AL diagnosis on CHC.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Post-treatment clinical outcomes

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    Summary statistics will be used to characterize the study population on clinical outcomes, by AL subtype and, for each test, the proportion of normal, abnormal, and missing tests.

  2. Prevalence and severity of parent-proxy neuropsychological (NP) outcomes

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    NP outcomes (measured by both parent proxy and direct assessment) will be reported by both raw and normalized scores, and quantitative data summarized using descriptive statistics and correlational techniques. The mean score for each test will be compared between the cohorts using a student t-test (2-sided significance level of 0.05 and equal variance).

  3. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL)

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    HRQOL will be assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Parents will be asked to scale 23 items comprising four dimensions (Physical, Emotional, Social, and School functioning) on a 5 point unweighted Likert scale. Will use a t-test (or Wilcoxon rank sum test if appropriate) to compare the mean (or median) HRQOL score.

  4. Clinical risk determinants of CHC, NP, and clinical outcomes

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    Will use Cox regression to estimate the hazard ratio and 95% CI for (1) number, severity, and type of CHC, and (2) NP deficits dichotomized as clinically significant impairment yes/no (=< 1.5 standard deviation outside of the mean for the age-normative sample) according to age at diagnosis, years off therapy, sex, race/ethnicity, diagnosis, and treatment exposures.

  5. Well-annotated cohort of Down syndrome phenotyping acute leukemia study (DS-PALS) survivors and associated biobank

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    The number of patients who agree to be in the Biobanking part of the study and have leftover tumor tissue and some normal blood, bone marrow, or other tissue saved for future research.

Other outcomes

  1. Structural birth defects and genetic associations with etiology extending to CHC for Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia (DS-ALL)

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    Will determine the association between structural birth defects and the number, organ system category, and severity of CHC in DS-PALS survivors. Will use Cox regression to estimate hazard ratio and 95% CI for number, severity, and type of CHC by number of birth defects. Will explore the role of DS-ALL susceptibility variants identified in our genome-wide assessment on DS-associated CHC in survivors. Will use Cox regression to estimate the association between four DS-ALL susceptibility loci (rs58923657 near IKZF1, rs3731249 in CDKN2A, rs7090445 in ARID5B, and rs3781093 in GATA3) and CHC.

  2. Telomere length (TL) determined by polygenic risk score and telomere flow-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in association with outcomes from in-person NP assessment for DS-ALL

    Time frame: Up to study completion

    Will determine genetically-estimated TL. Will use a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model to estimate hazard ratio, 95% CI for the association between each of nine variants and risk for NP deficit =<1 standard deviation below the mean, and consider the weighted and unweighted risk score from the number of risk alleles present and previously-published beta estimates. For flow-FISH analyses, TL =< 1st percentile is considered 'very short,' as previously defined. Will determine objective responses for NP deficits =< 1.5 standard deviation below the mean for an age-normative sample in subjects with TL > or =< 1st percentile, adjusted for relevant covariates and treatment factors. Will report 95% CI, p values using a Chi square test (two-tailed p-value of 0.05 statistically significant).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Children's Oncology Group

Network

Registry information

Official study title

Chronic Health Conditions in Down Syndrome-Associated Acute Leukemia: The Down Syndrome Phenotyping Acute Leukemia Study in Survivors (DS-PALS Survivors)

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2029
First posted
Jan 27, 2023
Registry last updated
May 5, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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