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Long term quality of life outcomes following surgical resection alone for benign paediatric intracranial tumours

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Abstract

Purpose

Survivors of paediatric intracranial tumours are at increased risk of psychosocial, neuro-developmental, and functional impairment. This study aimed to evaluate long-term health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes in patients with benign paediatric brain tumours treated curatively with surgical resection alone.

Methodology

This was a cross-sectional study of patients with benign paediatric intracranial tumours managed with surgery alone between 2000 and 2015. Eligible patients with a minimum of 5-years follow-up after surgery were identified. Validated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires were administered: SF-36, QLQ-BN20, QLQ-C30 and PedsQL™.

Results

Twenty-three patients participated (median age at surgery 13 years; range 1–18; 12 male). The most common diagnosis was pilocytic astrocytoma (n = 15). Median time from surgery to participation was 11 years(range 6–19). Fourteen patients achieved A-level qualifications and two obtained an undergraduate degree. Twelve patients were employed, eight were studying and three were unemployed or volunteering. HRQOL outcomes demonstrated significant limitation from social functioning (p = 0.03) and cognitive functioning (p = 0.023) compared to the general population. Patients also experienced higher rates of loss of appetite (p = 0.009) and nausea and vomiting (p = 0.031). Ten patients were under transitional teenager and young-adult (TYA) clinic follow-up. TYA patients achieved higher levels of education (p = 0.014), were more likely to hold a driver’s license (p = 0.041) compared to patients not followed-up through these services.

Conclusions

Childhood brain-tumour survivors have a greater risk of developing psychological, neuro-cognitive and physical impairment. Early comprehensive assessment, specialist healthcare and TYA services are vital to support these patients.

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Data availability

Anonymized data are available (upon reasonable request) from the corresponding author.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Fazakerley, Liverpool, L9 7LJ, UK

    Siddhant Kumar, Christopher P. Millward, Antonia Thorpe, Mitchell Foster & Michael D. Jenkinson

  2. Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Siddhant Kumar, Christopher P. Millward & Michael D. Jenkinson

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Salford Royal Hospital Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK

    Abdurrahman I. Islim

  4. Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Abdurrahman I. Islim

  5. Department of Neurosurgery, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, UK

    Richard Moon

  6. Department of Neurosurgery, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK

    Dawn Hennigan & Conor L. Mallucci

  7. Department of Paediatric Oncology, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK

    Barry Pizer

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  1. Siddhant Kumar
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Contributions

Conception and design: RM, CLM, MDJ. Data collection: SK, RM, CPM, MTF, CM, BP Data analysis: SK, AI. Data interpretation: SK, AI, RM, CPM, DH, MTF, BP, CLM, MDJ. Manuscript writing, revision, and completion: all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Siddhant Kumar.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the East of England Essex Research Ethics Committee (REC No. 18/EE/0225).

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Kumar, S., Islim, A.I., Moon, R. et al. Long term quality of life outcomes following surgical resection alone for benign paediatric intracranial tumours. J Neurooncol 161, 77–84 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-022-04208-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-022-04208-z

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