Abstract 3658: Ototoxicity of chemotherapy and radiation agents used in pediatric cancer treatment

Abstract Many highly effective therapies used to treat cancer have been associated with irreversible development of detrimental neurological sequelae following the survival of childhood and adolescent cancer. While cancer treatment-induced late effects vary due to patient-related risk factors, cancer survivors who received chemotherapy or radiation may develop conductive or sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The purpose of this project is to determine which neuroinflammation-associated genes and biological pathways are affected by pediatric cancer treatments, and which treatment protocols are associated with increased ototoxicity. We hypothesize that cancer treatment causes abnormal gene expression of neuroinflammation and deafness-associated genes. The hypothesis will be tested with two specific aims. Aim I is to perform a retrospective review of diagnostic audiograms from pediatric cancer survivors enrolled in the Treatment After Cancer and Late Effects Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, Louisiana (CHNOLA). Aim II is to perform Nanostring neuroinflammation gene expression analysis followed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) of brain autopsy specimens from deceased pediatric patients who have previously undergone cancer treatment (Pathology Department, CHNOLA). Preliminary results revealed abnormal upregulation or downregulation of key genes, some of which are related to hearing loss and cochlear neuron degeneration when compared to age-matched controls (e.g., GJA1 and CASP3). The present study may provide information regarding which cancer treatment agents are ototoxic and reveal the candidate risk genes and pathways that contribute to auditory late effects. The long term goal of this project is to identify the needs of cancer survivors who are affected by treatment-induced hearing loss and provide them and their families with access to educational materials, medical resources, and social support to increase their health-related quality of life. Citation Format: Brittney T. Moore, Fern Tsien, Gabrielle Sheets, Ayesha Umrigar, Jordan Doss, Michael Norman, Matthew Stark, Pinki Prasad, Amanda Musso, Chindo Hicks, David Otohinoyi, Jovanny Zabaleta, Li Li. Ototoxicity of chemotherapy and radiation agents used in pediatric cancer treatment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3658.