Physical, social and school functioning in pediatric patients during early clinical remission of cancer

Abstract

Background: Due to increasingly rigorous multimodal therapies the overall survival rates of all childhood cancers have improved drastically. However, these multimodal therapies have significant short- and long-term impact on health and wellbeing in childhood cancer survivors. Therefore, there is a growing demand for outcome measures which reflect a patients overall wellbeing and subjective evaluation of health status and quality of life. Assessing physical, social and school functioning in the clinical remission phase is highly relevant as this is often the moment in which children return to their daily activities. Aim: To assess the level of physical, social and school functioning in pediatric patients during early clinical remission of cancer compared to norm values. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, pediatric patients (5-18 years old) during early clinical remission of cancer were recruited from the outpatient clinic of the Princes Maxima Center. Physical, social and school functioning were assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales questionnaire. Children (8-18 years old) or parents (of children 5-7 years old) were asked to fill in the online questionnaire. Scores on physical, social and school functioning were compared with norm values. Results: A total of 64 patients were included in this study. Pediatric patients during early clinical remission of cancer between 5-7 years old reported significant lower physical (p<0.001), social (p=0.017) and school functioning (p=0.004) compared to healthy age-matched controls. No significant differences were found on physical and school functioning among the older pediatric patients (8-18 years old) during early clinical remission of cancer compared to healthy controls. Conclusion: The younger pediatric patients (5-7 years old) during early clinical remission of cancer might experience lower physical, social and school functioning compared to healthy controls. They may experience short and/or long term side effects of the treatment. Implication of key findings: Individual interventions regarding physical and social functioning might be beneficial among the younger children during early clinical remission of cancer. In which physiotherapists and/or social workers can play a significant role.