| 1. |
- van Gorp, Marloes, et al.
(author)
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The course of health-related quality of life after the diagnosis of childhood cancer : a national cohort study
- 2023
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In: BMC Cancer. - 1471-2407. ; 23, s. 1-13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Comprehensive insight in the longitudinal development of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after childhood cancer diagnosis could improve quality of care. Thus, we aimed to study the course and biopsychosocial determinants of HRQOL in a unique national cohort of children with cancer.METHODS: HRQOL of 2154 children with cancer was longitudinally reported (median: 3 reports) between diagnosis and 5 years after, using the pediatric quality of life inventory generic core scales (PedsQL). HRQOL was modelled over time since diagnosis using mixed model analysis for children 2-7 years (caregiver-reports) and ≥ 8 years (self-reports). Differences in the course between hematological, solid and central nervous system malignancies were studied. Additional associations of demographics, disease characteristics (age at diagnosis, relapse, diagnosis after the national centralization of childhood cancer care and treatment components) and caregiver distress (Distress thermometer) were studied.RESULTS: Overall, HRQOL improved with time since diagnosis, mostly in the first years. The course of HRQOL differed between diagnostic groups. In children aged 2-7 years, children with a solid tumor had most favorable HRQOL. In children aged ≥ 8 years, those with a hematological malignancy had lower HRQOL around diagnosis, but stronger improvement over time than the other diagnostic groups. In both age-groups, the course of HRQOL of children with a CNS tumor showed little or no improvement. Small to moderate associations (β: 0.18 to 0.67, p < 0.05) with disease characteristics were found. Centralized care related to better HRQOL (β: 0.25 to 0.44, p < 0.05). Caregiver distress was most consistently associated with worse HRQOL (β: - 0.13 to - 0.48, p < 0.01).CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL course presented can aid in identifying children who have not fully recovered their HRQOL following cancer diagnosis, enabling early recognition of the issue. Future research should focus on ways to support children, especially those with a CNS tumor, for example by decreasing distress in their caregivers.
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| 2. |
- Irestorm, Elin, et al.
(author)
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Fatigue trajectories during pediatric ALL therapy are associated with fatigue after treatment: a national longitudinal cohort study
- 2023
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In: Supportive Care in Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1433-7339 .- 0941-4355. ; 31:1, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Fatigue is one of the most prevalent and distressing symptoms reported by survivors of childhood cancer. There is currently a lack of longitudinal studies on cancer-related fatigue, and especially on the relationship between the course of fatigue during treatment and fatigue at follow-up. The purpose of the current study was therefore to investigate if the course of fatigue during treatment, treatment intensity, serious adverse events, sex, or age at diagnosis are associated with cancer-related fatigue after treatment.Methods: Participants were 92 children and adolescents diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (mean age at diagnosis was 6.26 years). Fatigue was measured with PedsQL multidimensional fatigue scale proxy reports 5 months after diagnosis,12 months after diagnosis, 24 months after diagnosis, and at follow-up 12 months after end of treatment. The effect of patient and treatment characteristics on fatigue reported at follow-up was tested through logistic regression analyses.Results: The course of fatigue during treatment signifcantly predicted fatigue reported at follow-up for general fatigue (p=.038, OR=9.20), sleep/rest fatigue (p=.011, OR=15.48), and cognitive fatigue (pConclusions The fndings demonstrate that fatigue reported during treatment can predict fatigue at follow-up. These results stress the need for longitudinal assessments. Healthcare professionals need to be aware that pediatric patients who are fatigued during treatment need to receive additional attention and timely interventions since cancer-related fatigue will not resolve by itself in the frst year after end of treatment.
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| 3. |
- Irestorm, Elin, et al.
(author)
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The development of fatigue after treatment for pediatric brain tumors does not differ between tumor locations
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In: Pediatric Blood & Cancer. - 1545-5017. ; , s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundChildren and adolescents treated for a brain tumor suffer from more fatigue than survivors of other types of childhood cancer. As tumor location might be predictive of fatigue, our aim was to investigate the longitudinal development of fatigue in children with brain tumors and risk factors for fatigue separately for different tumor locations.MethodsFatigue was assessed 1235 times for 425 participants. Self-report versions of PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale were used to repeatedly assess fatigue from the end of treatment up to 8 years later. Mixed models were used to analyze fatigue over time and determinants separately for infratentorial (N = 205), supratentorial hemispheric (N = 91), and supratentorial midline tumors (N = 129).ResultsCognitive fatigue worsened with time, while sleep-rest and general fatigue first decreased and then increased. There was no difference in fatigue between the tumor locations, but the risk factors differed when stratified by location. Radiotherapy was associated with more fatigue for infratentorial tumors, and centralization of care was associated with less fatigue for the supratentorial midline tumors. For supratentorial hemispheric tumors, female sex was associated with more fatigue. Higher parental education was associated with less fatigue regardless of tumor location.ConclusionsThe development of fatigue seems to be more related to sociodemographic and treatment variables than to tumor location. Healthcare providers need to be aware that fatigue may develop in the years following end of treatment, and that patients with a low/middle educational family background might be more vulnerable and in need of targeted support.
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| 4. |
- Bakker, Anne, et al.
(author)
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A systematic review of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents during treatment for cancer
- 2023
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In: EJC Paediatric Oncology. - 2772-610X. ; 2
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a multidimensional concept which captures the individual’s perception of treatment burden. Evaluating HRQL during treatment for childhood cancer provides insight into the burden of the treatment from the child’s and/or parent’s perspective.In this review, we aimed to describe Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) used to measure HRQL during treatment, describe how HRQL of paediatric oncology patients differs from the healthy norms, and describe biopsychosocial variables that are related to HRQL during treatment.We conducted a systematic review of HRQL of childhood cancer patients on treatment, according to PRISMA guidelines. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL, and after full-text review we included 85 papers (84 studies) with 7311 participants.These studies were conducted in 30 different countries and utilised 23 different PROMs. The most commonly used PROM was Pediatric Quality of Life generic core scales. While many different PROMs were used in the included studies, none of them covered all aspects of HRQL.We identified a lack of research regarding the effects of immuno- and CAR-T therapy and coping strategies of the child and/or the parents on HRQL, as well as a knowledge gap regarding HRQL in children below 2 years of age.All studies reported lower HRQL outcomes for patients in comparison to healthy children of siblings. Overall, children on treatment compared to off treatment reported lower HRQL. Described from a biopsychosocial perspective, we found inconsistent associations between other variables and HRQL outcomes. This can be explained by different studies classifying different groups differently.To be able to compare HRQL outcomes of childhood cancer patients internationally we recommend the use of a paediatric cancer PROM core set.
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| 5. |
- Andrés-Jensen, Liv, et al.
(author)
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Severe toxicity free survival : physician-derived definitions of unacceptable long-term toxicities following acute lymphocytic leukaemia
- 2021
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In: The Lancet Haematology. - : Elsevier. - 2352-3026. ; 8:7, s. E513-E523
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 5-year overall survival rates have surpassed 90% for childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemia, but survivors are at risk for permanent health sequelae. Although event-free survival appropriately represents the outcome for cancers with poor overall survival, this metric is inadequate when cure rates are high but challenged by serious, persistent complications. Accordingly, a group of experts in paediatric haematology-oncology, representative of 17 international acute lymphocytic leukaemia study groups, launched an initiative to construct a measure, designated severe toxicity-free survival (STFS), to quantify the occurrence of physician-prioritised toxicities to be integrated with standard cancer outcome reporting. Five generic inclusion criteria (not present before cancer diagnosis, symptomatic, objectifiable, of unacceptable severity, permanent, or requiring unacceptable treatments) were used to assess 855 health conditions, which resulted in inclusion of 21 severe toxicities. Consensus definitions were reached through a modified Delphi process supplemented by two additional plenary meetings. The 21 severe toxicities include severe adverse health conditions that substantially affect activities of daily living and are refractory to therapy (eg, refractory seizures), are without therapeutic options (eg, blindness), or require substantially invasive treatment (eg, cardiac transplantation). Incorporation of STFS assessment into clinical trials has the potential to improve and diversify treatment strategies, focusing not only on traditional outcome events and overall survival but also the frequencies of the most severe toxicities. The two major aims of this Review were to: prioritise and define unacceptable long-term toxicity for patients with childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemia, and define how these toxicities should be combined into a composite quantity to be integrated with other reported outcomes. Although STFS quantifies the clinically unacceptable health tradeoff for cure using childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemia as a model disease, the prioritised severe toxicities are based on generic considerations of relevance to any other cancer diagnosis and age group.
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| 6. |
- C Daniels, Lauren, et al.
(author)
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Sleep interventions in pediatric oncology: A systematic review of the evidence
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In: Pediatric Blood & Cancer. - 1545-5017.
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sleep concerns are common during pediatric cancer treatment and can last into survivorship. The current systematic review sought to identify intervention studies that addressed sleep as a primary or secondary outcome during pediatric cancer treatment up to 5 years after completing treatment. Quality assessment was rated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. The review identified 16 studies with a total of 943 participants that tested a wide range of interventions including psycho-educational, stress management techniques, medications, and physical activity. Most studies included tested interventions in small samples. None of the included studies had a high risk of bias for all domains, but all included studies had a high risk of bias for at least two risk domains. Several feasible pilot studies were identified that warrant further research to test efficacy. Implications for future research and clinical practice to manage sleep concerns are discussed
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| 7. |
- van Litsenburg, Raphaele R.L., et al.
(author)
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Sleep problems during and after paediatric brain tumours
- 2023
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In: The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. - 2352-4642. ; 7:4, s. 280-287
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Brain tumours are among the most common cancer diagnoses in paediatrics. Children with brain tumours are at risk of developing sleep problems because of direct and indirect effects of the tumour and its treatment, in addition to psychosocial and environmental factors. Sleep has an important role in physical and psychological wellbeing, and sleep problems are associated with many adverse outcomes. In this Review, we describe the state of the evidence regarding sleep in people with paediatric brain tumours, prevalence and types of sleep problems, risk factors, and effectiveness of interventions. Evidence shows that sleep problems, particularly excessive daytime sleepiness, are common in people with paediatric brain tumours, with high BMI emerging as a consistent predictor of sleep disruption. Further intervention studies are needed, and clinical evaluation of sleep is warranted for people with paediatric brain tumours.
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