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Excellent quality of life after childhood leukaemia in Switzerland
Young adults, who have survived childhood leukaemia, report quality of life that is as good as the general population, even after a relapse. This study is part of the nationwide Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.
Little is known about the quality of life in survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) who have relapsed. ALL is the most common cancer in children. While most children can be cured, about 20% have a relapse. These children need intensified treatments, including chemotherapy, brain irradiation or stem cell transplantation. The disease and its treatment put ALL survivors at risk of later health problems, such as cardiac disease or learning difficulties, particularly those who have relapsed.
In a nationwide cohort study in Switzerland, we investigated quality of life in all survivors of childhood ALL and compared them to the general population. We focused on those who had suffered a relapse.
Data came from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a follow-up study of all childhood cancer patients registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. Survivors rated their quality of life with the widely used “Short Form-36” questionnaire, which measures four aspects of physical health and four aspects of mental health.
The 457 survivors in this study had similar quality of life compared to healthy peers, irrespective of relapse status. Compared to non-relapsed ALL survivors, relapsed ALL survivors reported slightly lower quality of life in one of eight aspects (“general health”).
In conclusion, we found that survivors generally report an excellent quality of life. In those, who have a relapse, further improvements in therapy should aim to optimize quality of life as well as minimize late effects.
Link to the article: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038015
Link to the childhood cancer registry: http://www.childhoodcancerregistry.ch
Photo credit:
CC BY-SA Frédéric de Villamil http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdevillamil/3564278538/
