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Physical and social characteristics and support needs of adult female childhood cancer survivors who underwent hormone replacement therapy

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Abstract

Background

Female childhood cancer survivors who develop gonadal dysfunction require female hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from puberty until menopause. However, the support provided in such cases has not been studied. We investigated the physical and social characteristics and support needs of adult female childhood cancer survivors who underwent HRT.

Methods

Forty-nine adult female childhood cancer survivors completed self-administered questionnaires. We compared the clinical characteristics, health status, and social conditions between a group that underwent HRT and a group that did not, and we surveyed support needs of the group that underwent HRT.

Results

The median age of the subjects was 25.0 years (range 20−41). Twenty subjects (40.8%) underwent HRT. A significantly high number of those who underwent HRT also underwent radiation therapy (p < 0.01) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (p < 0.001), and none of them had a history of pregnancy or childbirth (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in physical symptoms and social characteristics between the groups. Those who experienced anxiety regarding fertility required information about HRT, a platform to share their concerns, and psychological support and cooperation among healthcare providers.

Conclusions

Although the subjects of this survey exhibited good social adjustment regardless of whether or not they underwent HRT, they were anxious about fertility. It is important to understand the concerns and anxieties unique to female childhood cancer survivors and to enhance psychological support in addition to providing educational support so that HRT can be administered.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the female childhood cancer survivors who participated in this study, the medical staff, particularly Keizo Horibe, MD, PhD; Motoaki Chin, MD, PhD; Takashi Kaneko, MD, PhD; Yuki Yuza, MD, PhD; Miwa Ozawa, MD, PhD; Masatoshi Takagi, MD, PhD; Akira Morimoto, MD, PhD; and Mitsue Kuroda, RN, CNS, for recruiting survey participants. We also express gratitude toward Professor Noriko Okubo for providing expert opinions and advice during preparation of the manuscript. This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 24659995.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reproductive Health Nursing, Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan

    Akiko Tomioka

  2. Faculty of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Konan Women’s University, 6-2-23 Morikita-machi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-0001, Japan

    Mitsue Maru

  3. Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Biology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan

    Kenichi Kashimada

  4. Department of Gynecology, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57 Urafune-cho, Minami-ku, Yokohama, 232-0024, Japan

    Hideya Sakakibara

  5. Department of Pediatric Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University, 4-1-17 Higashi-gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 141-8648, Japan

    Akiko Tomioka

Authors
  1. Akiko Tomioka
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  2. Mitsue Maru
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  3. Kenichi Kashimada
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  4. Hideya Sakakibara
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Correspondence to Akiko Tomioka.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Tomioka, A., Maru, M., Kashimada, K. et al. Physical and social characteristics and support needs of adult female childhood cancer survivors who underwent hormone replacement therapy. Int J Clin Oncol 22, 786–792 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-017-1120-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-017-1120-3

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