{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T21:40:04Z","timestamp":1788471604431,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]],"date-time":"2026-03-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774828800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medical Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: To study the hypothesis that cognitive functions and learning skills are impaired in child\/adolescent childhood cancer survivors (CCS). Secondary outcomes included psychosocial parameters and quality of life. Methods: This case\u2013control study was conducted over four years (2017\u20132021) at the largest pediatric Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, in Greece. Eligible participants were children and adolescents in Greece. For CCS, \u22651 year should have elapsed from completion of cancer treatment. Assessments of neurocognitive function, learning and psychosocial skills and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were performed with validated instruments (WISC-III, LAMDA software, Achenbach CBCL\/6-18 and YSR, KIDSCREEN-52, respectively). Results: In total, 219 participants (47.49% males, mean age \u00b1 SD 11.72 \u00b1 2.32 years), 70 CCS and 149 controls (matched for age, sex, family income), were included. Cases were CCS of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 25)\/brain tumors (n = 19)\/lymphoma (n = 17)\/nephroblastoma (n = 5)\/Ewing sarcoma (n = 3)\/rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 1). CCS had worse scores in full-scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) (p = 0.004), verbal IQ (VIQ) (p = 0.005) and all its subscales, performance IQ (PIQ) (p = 0.021), and almost all learning parameters than controls. Attention, working memory, writing\/visual\u2013motor coordination, processing accuracy\/speed, language acquisition\/expression, all psychosocial scales, and HRQoL domains of mood and emotions, were negatively affected in CCS. Female CCS demonstrated lower FSIQ (p = 0.019) and VIQ (p = 0.014) than control females, whereas male CCS retained their total IQ unaffected. Among CCS, those with non-central nervous system (CNS) tumors, higher parental educational level or higher family income had significantly higher IQ than those with CNS tumors, lower parental educational level or lower family income, respectively. Conclusions: CCS in Greece carry a significant burden of cognitive and psychological morbidity. Cognitive\/educational and psychosocial support to CCS is imperative.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medsci14020171","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]],"date-time":"2026-03-30T15:20:47Z","timestamp":1774884047000},"page":"171","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Cognitive and Psychosocial Burden of Childhood Cancer Survivors in Greece: A Case\u2013Control Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Kalliopi","family":"Mavrea","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Assessment of Learning Difficulties, Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair in Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katerina","family":"Katsibardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Oncology Hematology Unit, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kleoniki","family":"Roka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Oncology Hematology Unit, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roser","family":"Pons","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Neurology Unit, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3320-6588","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasiliki","family":"Efthymiou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Research Institute for the Study of Genetic and Malignant Disorders in Childhood, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 8 Levadeias Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandros-Stamatios","family":"Antoniou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 20 Ippokratous Street, 10680 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2981-1651","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonios I.","family":"Christou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, 38221 Volos, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6942-6470","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christina","family":"Kanaka-Gantenbein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Assessment of Learning Difficulties, Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair in Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"University Research Institute for the Study of Genetic and Malignant Disorders in Childhood, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 8 Levadeias Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3098-5264","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"George P.","family":"Chrousos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Research Institute for the Study of Genetic and Malignant Disorders in Childhood, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 8 Levadeias Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5178-0655","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonis","family":"Kattamis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Oncology Hematology Unit, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"University Research Institute for the Study of Genetic and Malignant Disorders in Childhood, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 8 Levadeias Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1001-0926","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Flora","family":"Bacopoulou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Assessment of Learning Difficulties, Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair in Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"University Research Institute for the Study of Genetic and Malignant Disorders in Childhood, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 8 Levadeias Street, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2512","DOI":"10.1002\/cncr.11355","article-title":"Developmental model 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