ABSTRACT
Research findings about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of childhood cancer survivors are mixed and the features which could modulate these results have not been investigated rigorously. This research aims to improve the knowledge on these topics. Thus, HRQoL between central nervous system (CNST) and non-central nervous system (non-CNST) adolescent cancer survivors was compared. The influence of selected factors (gender and years since diagnosis) on HRQoL was also analysed. In a cross-sectional design, 78 survivors (12-20 years) who were ≥ 1 year free of oncological treatment answered the self-reported version of the KIDSCREEN-52. HRQoL mean scores of CNST survivors were lower in comparison with non-CNST in physical well-being and social support and peers dimensions. Furthermore, female gender was also related to lower HRQoL scores for both types of tumours in physical well-being and autonomy dimensions. Additionally, scores on psychological well-being, social support and peers, parent relations and home life and school environment dimensions decrease with length of time from diagnosis. Therefore, diagnosis of CNST and gender were related to lower HRQoL among survivors in some dimensions, whereas time from diagnosis was related to impaired HRQoL in other features. These results can help to design tailored interventions and psychosocial guidelines to follow-up survivors.
Subject(s)
Neoplasms/psychology , Quality of Life , Sex Factors , Survivors/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Central Nervous System Neoplasms/psychology , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Health Status , Humans , Male , Quality of Life/psychology , Time Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Few studies exist on the neuropsychological sequelae of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in pediatric patients. Published results show considerable discrepancies although studies of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia undergoing high doses of cranial radiotherapy report short- and long-term loss of cognitive ability. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of BMT and the effect of anxiety on the pre-BMT assessment in a group of children with severe hematological disease treated in our center. METHODS: We performed a descriptive, prospective, longitudinal study of 54 children, aged 4-15 years, who were treated between 1987 and 1995. Twenty-two children were evaluated before and after BMT by means of the Weschler Intelligence Scale. To control for the effect of anxiety on the pre-BMT scores, the patients were divided into two groups according to the scores obtained in this test (group 1: IQ score 100; group 1: IQ100). RESULTS: Comparison of pre- and post-BMT scores for both groups revealed no significant differences. However, comparison of the results between groups revealed that group I scored lower in the post-BMT test than in the pre-BMT test while group I scored higher in the post-BMT test than in the pre-BMT test. CONCLUSIONS: Although comparison between the pre- and post-BMT results obtained from the whole sample showed no differences that indicated post-treatment sequelae, treatment-induced anxiety may have influenced the pre-BMT score.
Subject(s)
Anxiety , Bone Marrow Transplantation/psychology , Hematologic Diseases/therapy , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Hematologic Diseases/psychology , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Neuropsychological Tests , Wechsler ScalesABSTRACT
Antecedentes: Existen pocos estudios sobre las secuelas neurocognitivas del trasplante de medula ósea (TMO) en pacientes pediátricos, y sus resultados a menudo son divergentes, aunque los estudios con niños enfermos de leucemia sometidos a altas dosis de radioterapia craneal muestran pérdida de capacidad cognitiva a medio y largo plazo. Objetivos: Conocer los efectos del TMO en un grupo de niños con graves enfermedades hematológicas tratados en nuestro centro, y el impacto de la ansiedad en la evaluación previa al TMO. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo prospectivo y longitudinal, desde 1987 hasta 1995 con un grupo 54 niños, de entre 4 y 15 años. De este grupo 22 niños se evaluaron antes y después del TMO mediante la Escala de Inteligencia de Wechsler para niños (Wechsler Intelligence Scale, WIS). Con el fin de controlar el impacto de la ansiedad sobre el rendimiento de la evaluación previa al TMO se dividieron los pacientes en 2 grupos según la puntuación obtenida en dicha evaluación: grupo 1, cociente de inteligencia total (CIT) menor o igual a 100; grupo 2, CIT mayor de 100. Resultados: En la comparación entre los resultados de los 2 grupos pretrasplante y postrasplante del grupo inicial no se observaron diferencias significativas, pero al comparar los resultados por grupos, se observó un descenso significativo en el grupo 2, el que había puntuado más alto en la evaluación previa al TMO, mientras que el grupo 1 aumentaba su rendimiento. Conclusiones: Si bien en una primera comparación entre los resultados pretrasplante y postrasplante de la muestra no parece existir diferencias que muestren secuelas postratamiento, la ansiedad producida por el mismo pudo haber influido en la evaluación pretrasplante, de tal forma que enmascarase los efectos de éste (AU)
