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Social outcomes and quality of life of childhood cancer survivors in Japan: a cross-sectional study on marriage, education, employment and health-related QOL (SF-36)

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Abstract

Social outcomes and quality of life (QOL) of childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) remain unknown in Japan. We investigated these outcomes in young adult CCSs compared to those of their siblings in Japan, and analyzed the association between social outcome and SF-36 health survey subscale scores. Between 2007 and 2009, we performed a cross-sectional survey using self-rating questionnaires. We estimated social outcomes and health-related QOL by performing the SF-36 in each group: CCSs with or without stem cell transplantation (SCT)/radiotherapy (RT) and their siblings. Adjusted odds ratios for outcomes of interest were estimated using logistic regression analysis. Questionnaires from 185 CCSs and 72 CCS’s siblings were analyzed. There were no differences in educational attainment or annual income. The SF-36 subscale scores of CCSs with SCT and RT were significantly lower than those of siblings in physical functioning (PF) (p < 0.001 and 0.003, respectively) and general health (GH) (both p = 0.001). Lower PF scores correlated with recurrence (p = 0.041) and late effects (p = 0.010), and poor GH scores with late effects (p = 0.006). The CCSs had made efforts to attain educational/vocational goals; however, a significant proportion of CCSs who had experienced late effects remain at increased risk of experiencing diminished QOL.

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Acknowledgments

The institutions that provided patient data and recruited CCSs to the survey are listed in the supplemental appendix 1. This study was supported by research grants from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare [“Study of quality of life and prognosis in childhood cancer survivors and establishment of the long-term follow-up system (Principal investigator: Yasushi Ishida)” and “Study to establish the standard treatment for childhood hematological malignancies (Principal investigator: Keizo Horibe)”].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, St. Luke’s International Hospital, 10-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0044, Japan

    Yasushi Ishida

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon, Japan

    Misato Honda

  3. Department of Family Nursing, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kiyoko Kamibeppu

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan

    Shuichi Ozono & Hiroko Inada

  5. Institute for Clinical Research, National Kyushu Cancer Center, Fukuoka, Japan

    Jun Okamura

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Niigata Cancer Center Hospital, Niigata, Japan

    Keiko Asami

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Center for Clinical Research, Nagoya Medical Center, Aichi, Japan

    Naoko Maeda & Keizo Horibe

  8. Department of Epidemiology, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoko Sakamoto

  9. Department of Hemato-Oncology, Kagawa Children’s Hospital, Kagawa, Japan

    Tsuyako Iwai

  10. Department of Health Policy, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoko Kakee

Authors
  1. Yasushi Ishida
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  2. Misato Honda
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  3. Kiyoko Kamibeppu
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  4. Shuichi Ozono
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  5. Jun Okamura
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  6. Keiko Asami
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  7. Naoko Maeda
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  8. Naoko Sakamoto
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  9. Hiroko Inada
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  10. Tsuyako Iwai
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  11. Naoko Kakee
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  12. Keizo Horibe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasushi Ishida.

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Appendices 1–2 (DOC 81 kb)

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Ishida, Y., Honda, M., Kamibeppu, K. et al. Social outcomes and quality of life of childhood cancer survivors in Japan: a cross-sectional study on marriage, education, employment and health-related QOL (SF-36). Int J Hematol 93, 633–644 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-011-0843-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-011-0843-6

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