WISC-R Verbal/Performance Discrepancies in Pediatric Cancer Patients

Intelligence testing was completed on 38 newly diagnosed pediatriconcology patients and 29 hemophilia patients between 6 and I7years of age. A low Verbal/high Performance intelligence testpattern was displayed by 39% of the oncology patients as comparedto an expected frequency of 12/14% in the hemophilia controls.Increased amounts of prednisone, vincristine, and number ofdays between diagnosis and intelligence testing correlated withthe Verbal-Performance (V-P) discrepancy scores in the oncologypatients. These findings and previous studies suggest the needfor monitoring the intellectual, emotional, linguistic, andneuropsychological status of pediatric oncology patients beginningat the time of diagnosis.