Health-related quality of life in young survivors of childhood cancer
Wengenroth, L. ; Gianinazzi, M. ; Rueegg, C. ; Lüer, S. ; Bergstraesser, E. ; Kuehni, C. ; Michel, G.
In: Quality of Life Research, 2015, vol. 24, no. 9, p. 2151-2161
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- Purpose: Childhood cancer and its treatment may affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in childhood cancer survivors, but population-based studies in young survivors are scarce. We aimed to: (1) compare HRQoL between young survivors and population norms and (2) find factors that influence parent-reported HRQoL in survivors. Methods: As part of the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a questionnaire was mailed to parents of survivors aged 8-16years, registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry, ≥5years after diagnosis. We used the KIDSCREEN-27 instrument to compare self- and parent-reported HRQoL between survivors (N=425) and standardized norms in the five dimensions of physical well-being, psychological well-being, autonomy, peers and school environment (mean=50, SD=10). We then used multivariable linear regressions to test the influence of socio-demographic and cancer-related factors on HRQoL. Results: Self-reported physical well-being was comparable to norms. Other HRQoL dimensions were higher than norms, with the highest mean=52.2 (p<0.001) for school environment. Parent-reported HRQoL in survivors was comparable to population norms; only physical well-being was lower (mean=47.1, p<0.001), and school environment was higher (mean=51.1, p=0.035). Parent-reported HRQoL was lower for survivors of CNS tumors (physical well-being: β=−5.27, p=0.007; psychological well-being: β=−4.39, p=0.044; peers β=−5.17, p=0.028), survivors of neuroblastoma (psychological well-being β=−5.20, p=0.047), and survivors who had had a relapse (physical well-being β=−5.41, p=0.005). Conclusions: Assessing HRQoL during follow-up care, with a focus on physical well-being, specific diagnoses (e.g., CNS tumor) and late complications (e.g., relapse) might help to early identify problems and offer support to survivors with reduced HRQoL.