ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The survival rate of all childhood cancers has been increasing, and latent effects on childhood cancer survivors have been gaining researchers' attention. It has been shown that childhood cancer survivors experience social maladaptation and a decreased quality of life. Although neuroblastoma is one of the most common solid cancers in childhood, there are few reports on psychosocial status in neuroblastoma survivors. The purpose of this study was to investigate temporal changes in psychosocial status in neuroblastoma survivors. METHODS: This study was conducted by undertaking retrospective chart reviews of neuroblastoma survivors that were treated between January 1997 and February 2016 at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Among the 54 survivors identified, data for 28 patients who underwent psychological evaluation before and after treatment completion were selected for further analysis. We compared intelligence score, Korea-Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), and Korean Personality Rating Scale for Children (K-PRC) scores before and after treatment completion. Time derivatives for each variable were calculated to identify temporal changes in scores. RESULTS: After treatment completion, K-CBCL scores for total competence (t=−2.34, p=0.044), somatic complaints (t=−2.43, p=0.022), and thought problems (t=−3.03, p=0.006) were higher than the scores prior to treatment. Familial relationship in K-PRC was significantly improved after treatment (t=2.11, p=0.045). Time derivatives of the significant K-CBCL subscales, except for the withdrawal and externalizing symptom scores, showed a tendency to increase with time. CONCLUSION: Although familial relationship and social competence improved after treatment, the levels of somatic complaints and thought problems increased following neuroblastoma treatment.
