Feasibility of a play based intervention for children with cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving neurodevelopmental outcomes in children being treated for cancer at 5 years of age and younger: a pilot feasibility study
IRAS ID
356916
Contact name
Michelle Fernandes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Learning and development issues can sometimes arise for pre-school aged children undergoing cancer treatment. We’re not yet certain if this due to the disease itself, a side-effect of cancer treatments, a consequence of time spent in hospital - or a combination of these factors. Regardless of the cause, our aim is to find a new way to support the learning and development of pre-school age children with cancer.
In this research, we will work with children receiving treatments for several forms of cancer, including blood cancers, bone tumours and abdominal tumours – but we will not include children with brain tumours, as unpicking the effect on development of treatment and the tumour itself would not be possible. We’ll work with affected children who are receiving treatment with anti-cancer medicines such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
Other researchers have made a series of developmentally orientated games specifically designed to boost children’s learning and development. These games have been tested in children in good health - but who are at risk of having learning difficulties due to socioeconomic circumstances. The games have been proven to help with a set of skills termed ‘executive function’ which include memory, planning and self-control. Executive function is one of the areas of learning and development which is most affected in children with cancer – and so we think that these developmentally designed games will also be of benefit to young children receiving cancer therapy.
First, we need to find out if using these games daily works alongside having treatment for cancer. Therefore, we are trialling the games with a small number of families to ascertain how much they can complete them, as well as asking for parental views on the games. We will also develop suitable assessments for this group of children for when we go on to measure the effects of the treatment. This is called a ‘feasibility’ study.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NW/0056
Date of REC Opinion
28 Mar 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion