Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors: Perceptions of Children, Siblings, and Parents.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the health-related quality of life (HRQL) in survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and evaluated the perceptions of the children, their siblings, and their parents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seventy ALL survivors, who were between 7 and 17 years of age and had completed therapy ≥2 years, were included. The control group consisted of their healthy siblings. HRQL was assessed by the age-specific KINDL questionnaire.

RESULTS

No significant differences could be found among HRQL scores of ALL survivors with respect to variables such as sex, risk group, and having chronic illness. HRQL scores for physical well-being, emotional well-being, family, and social functioning of the patient and sibling self-reports and parent proxy reports were lower than the expected values for healthy and chronically ill children.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate that both ALL survivors and their families need help via psychological counseling programs to improve their HRQL even after completion of therapy.