Dataset Information

Restricted access to the environment and quality of life in adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

ABSTRACT: Survivors of pediatric brain tumors (BTs) are at-risk for late effects which may affect mobility within and access to the physical environment. This study examined the prevalence of and risk factors for restricted environmental access in survivors of childhood BTs and investigated the associations between reduced environmental access, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and survivors' social functioning. In-home evaluations were completed for 78 BT survivors and 78 population-based controls matched on age, sex, and zip-code. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for poor environmental access and reduced HRQOL. The median age of survivors was 22 years at the time of study. Compared to controls, survivors were more likely to report avoiding most dimensions of their physical environment, including a single flight of stairs (p < 0.001), uneven surfaces (p < 0.001), traveling alone (p = 0.01), and traveling to unfamiliar places (p = 0.001). Overall, survivors were 4.8 times more likely to report poor environmental access (95 % CI 2.0-11.5, p < 0.001). In survivors, poor environmental access was associated with reduced physical function (OR = 3.6, 95 % CI 1.0-12.8, p = 0.04), general health (OR = 6.0, 95 % CI 1.8-20.6, p = 0.002), and social functioning (OR = 4.3, 95 % CI 1.1-17.3, p = 0.03). Adult survivors of pediatric BTs were more likely to avoid their physical environment than matched controls. Restricted environmental access was associated with reduced HRQOL and diminished social functioning. Interventions directed at improving physical mobility may have significant impact on survivor quality of life.

SUBMITTER: Brinkman TM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3995451 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Restricted access to the environment and quality of life in adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Brinkman Tara M TM Li Zhenghong Z Neglia Joseph P JP Gajjar Amar A Klosky James L JL Allgood Rachel R Stovall Marilyn M Krull Kevin R KR Armstrong Gregory T GT Ness Kirsten K KK

Journal of neuro-oncology 20121111 2

Survivors of pediatric brain tumors (BTs) are at-risk for late effects which may affect mobility within and access to the physical environment. This study examined the prevalence of and risk factors for restricted environmental access in survivors of childhood BTs and investigated the associations between reduced environmental access, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and survivors' social functioning. In-home evaluations were completed for 78 BT survivors and 78 population-based controls ...[more]

PMID: 23143294

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) undergo treatment with central nervous system-directed therapy, the potentially neurotoxic effects of which have not been reported in NHL survivors. METHODS:NHL survivors (n?=?187) participating in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort who were 10 or more years from their diagnosis and were 18 years old or older underwent neurocognitive, emotional distress (Brief Symptom Inventory 18), and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) assessments (36-Item Short Form Health Survey). Age-adjusted z scores were compared with community controls (n?=?181) and normative data. Treatment exposures were abstracted from medical records. Models adjusted for the age, sex, and time from diagnosis were used to calculate the risk of impairment. RESULTS:The mean ages at evaluation were similar for the survivors and the controls (35.7?±?8.9 vs 35.5?±?11.0 years; P?=?.86). Survivors were 25.2?±?8.8 years from their diagnosis: 43 (23%) received cranial radiation, 70 (37%) received high-dose methotrexate, 40 (21%) received high-dose cytarabine, and 151 (81%) received intrathecal chemotherapy. Survivors' intelligence and attention were within normal limits; however, their memory, executive function, processing speed, and academics were impaired in comparison with both population norms and community controls (P values?<?.05). Treatment-related exposures were not associated with neurocognitive function; however, neurocognitive impairment was associated with lower educational attainment, unemployment, and occupational status (P values?<?.03). Slower processing speed and worse self-reported executive function were associated with symptoms of depression (P values???.003) and poorer HRQOL (P values?<?.05). CONCLUSIONS:Adult survivors of childhood NHL experience impaired neurocognitive function, which is associated with lower social attainment and poor HRQOL. Early-detection and intervention strategies are recommended. Cancer 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough chemotherapy and radiation treatment have contributed to increased survivorship, treatment-induced brain injury has been a concern when examining long-term intellectual outcomes of survivors. Specifically, disruption of brain white matter integrity and its relationship to intellectual outcomes in adult survivors of childhood brain tumors needs to be better understood.MethodsFifty-four participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging in addition to structural MRI and an intelligence test (IQ). Voxel-wise group comparisons of fractional anisotropy calculated from DTI data were performed using Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) on 27 survivors (14 treated with radiation with and without chemotherapy and 13 treated without radiation treatment on average over 13 years since diagnosis) and 27 healthy comparison participants. Whole brain white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) differences were explored between each group. The relationships between IQ and FA in the regions where statistically lower FA values were found in survivors were examined, as well as the role of cumulative neurological factors.ResultsThe group of survivors treated with radiation with and without chemotherapy had lower IQ relative to the group of survivors without radiation treatment and the healthy comparison group. TBSS identified white matter regions with significantly different mean fractional anisotropy between the three different groups. A lower level of white matter integrity was found in the radiation with or without chemotherapy treated group compared to the group without radiation treatment and also the healthy control group. The group without radiation treatment had a lower mean FA relative to healthy controls. The white matter disruption of the radiation with or without chemotherapy treated survivors was positively correlated with IQ and cumulative neurological factors.ConclusionsLower long-term intellectual outcomes of childhood brain tumor survivors are associated with lower white matter integrity. Radiation and adjunct chemotherapy treatment may play a role in greater white matter disruption. The relationships between white matter integrity and IQ, as well as cumulative neurological risk factors exist in young adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Project description:ImportanceAdvances in childhood and adolescent cancer treatment have been associated with increased rates of cure during the past 3 decades; however, improvement in adult life expectancy for these individuals has not yet been reported.ObjectivesTo project long-term survival and assess whether life expectancy will improve among adult survivors of childhood cancer who were treated in more recent decades.Design, setting, and participantsA microsimulation model of competing mortality risks was developed using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study on 5-year survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed between 1970 and 1999. The model included (1) late recurrence, (2) treatment-related late effects (health-related [subsequent cancers, cardiac events, pulmonary conditions, and other] and external causes), and (3) US background mortality rates.ExposuresTreatment subgroups (no treatment or surgery only, chemotherapy alone, radiotherapy alone, and radiotherapy with chemotherapy) and individuals with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during childhood by era (1970-1979, 1980-1989, and 1990-1999).Main outcomes and measuresConditional life expectancy (defined as the number of years a 5-year survivor can expect to live), cumulative cause-specific mortality risk, and 10-year mortality risks conditional on attaining ages of 30, 40, 50, and 60 years.ResultsAmong the hypothetical cohort of 5-year survivors of childhood cancer representative of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study participants (44% female and 56% male; mean [SD] age at diagnosis, 7.3 [5.6] years), conditional life expectancy was 48.5 years (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 47.6-49.6 years) for 5-year survivors diagnosed in 1970-1979, 53.7 years (95% UI, 52.6-54.7 years) for those diagnosed in 1980-1989, and 57.1 years (95% UI, 55.9-58.1 years) for those diagnosed in 1990-1999. Compared with individuals without a history of cancer, these results represented a gap in life expectancy of 25% (95% UI, 24%-27%) (16.5 years [95% UI, 15.5-17.5 years]) for those diagnosed in 1970-1979, 19% (95% UI, 17%-20%) (12.3 years [95% UI, 11.3-13.4 years]) for those diagnosed in 1980-1989, and 14% (95% UI, 13%-16%) (9.2 years [95% UI, 8.3-10.4 years]) for those diagnosed in 1990-1999. During the 3 decades, the proportion of survivors treated with chemotherapy alone increased (from 18% in 1970-1979 to 54% in 1990-1999), and the life expectancy gap in this chemotherapy-alone group decreased from 11.0 years (95% UI, 9.0-13.1 years) to 6.0 years (95% UI, 4.5-7.6 years). In contrast, during the same time frame, only modest improvements in the gap in life expectancy were projected for survivors treated with radiotherapy (21.0 years [95% UI, 18.5-23.2 years] to 17.6 years [95% UI, 14.2-21.2 years]) or with radiotherapy and chemotherapy (17.9 years [95% UI, 16.7-19.2 years] to 14.8 years [95% UI, 13.1-16.7 years]). For the largest group of survivors by diagnosis-those with acute lymphoblastic leukemia-the gap in life expectancy decreased from 14.7 years (95% UI, 12.8-16.5 years) in 1970-1979 to 8.0 years (95% UI, 6.2-9.7 years).Conclusions and relevanceEvolving treatment approaches are projected to be associated with improved life expectancy after treatment for pediatric cancer, in particular among those who received chemotherapy alone for their childhood cancer diagnosis. Despite improvements, survivors remain at risk for shorter lifespans, especially when radiotherapy was included as part of their childhood cancer treatment.

Project description:Importance:Retinoblastoma survivors are at risk for adverse oculo-visual outcomes. Limited data are available regarding long-term vision-targeted health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adult retinoblastoma survivors. Objective:To examine vision-targeted HRQoL as reported on the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Field Questionnaire for overall and specific scale scores among adult survivors of retinoblastoma. Design, Setting, and Participants:The Retinoblastoma Survivor Study is a retrospective cohort of adult retinoblastoma survivors treated at 3 academic medical centers in New York between 1932 and 1994. Participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire between April 2008 and June 2010. Items were scored in January 2013 and preliminary analyses were performed in July 2015. Models were finalized in May 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures:Self-reported vision-targeted HRQoL as reported on the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Field Questionnaire. Items are scored from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest quality of life. Results:Among 470 adult retinoblastoma survivors (53.6% with bilateral disease; 52.1% female; 86.4% white and non-Hispanic; mean age at study, 43.3 years; range, 18.0-77.0 years), 86% had at least 1 eye removed (1 eye, 74.5%; both eyes, 11.5%); 56.5% were previously treated with radiotherapy; and 61.3% rated their eyesight as excellent/good while 16.2% reported complete blindness. The overall mean (SD) VFQ composite score for all survivors was 81.1 (17.2) (mean [SD] score for unilateral retinoblastoma survivors, 91.4 [7.7]; bilateral retinoblastoma survivors, 72.3 [18.2]; difference between survivors with unilateral and bilateral disease, 19.1 [95% CI, 16.5-21.7; P?<?.001]). Prior exposure to radiotherapy was not associated with decreased overall VFQ (??=?-0.08; 95% CI, -0.15 to 0.002; P?=?.06) but was related to a few specific subdomains of visual functioning. Conclusions and Relevance:These findings suggest retinoblastoma-related oculo-visual problems are associated with functional status and vision-targeted HRQoL of adult survivors, particularly among those with bilateral disease.

Dataset Information

Restricted access to the environment and quality of life in adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Publications

Restricted access to the environment and quality of life in adult survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure