No adverse effect of vincristine on handwriting in children after completion of therapy

Background. Long-term writing difficulties in children after treatment with vincristine for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Wilms tumor, B non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and malignant mesenchymal tumors, were investigated. Procedure. Handwriting of 33 survivors and 33 controls matched for age, sex, and grade, was assessed with the BHK-scale. The examiner was blinded for whether a child was a case or a control. Results. No significant difference in writing speed was found. Mean difference in number of letters produced during 5 min was 6.4 (+/- 67.1, range -103 to +169). No significant difference was found in quality of writing scores; rnean difference in points was 1.5 (+/- 7.7, range -19 to +22). Cumulative vincristine dose, age at diagnosis or time since completion of treatment did not affect writing speed or quality. Conclusion. Chemotherapy, including vincristine, does not lead to long-term problems in speed or quality of writing in children treated for cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2007;49:841 -845. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.