HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF ADULTS SURVIVING MALIGNANCIES IN CHILDHOOD

While sophisticated data on specific problems are available, very litt le is known about the overall quality of life of long-term survivors o f malignancies in childhood. We used a previously validated 15-dimensi onal questionnaire to examine the perceived health-related quality of life of 168 survivors, currently aged 16-35 years, who had been treate d for a malignancy at a single institution between 1961 and 1993. All had been off therapy for at least 1 year (median, 12 years). In statis tical terms, the quality of life score of the survivors was significan tly better than that of 129 normal controls [0.966 versus 0.941 (theor etical maximum 1), respectively; P < 0.001]; however, a difference of this magnitude is most likely not clinically significant. There were n o associations between original diagnosis and present quality of life, but the numbers in each diagnostic group were small. The survivors re ported significantly better levels of vitality, distress, depression, discomfort, elimination and sleeping dimensions than the controls. Alt hough we are presently not able to identify all the contributing facto rs, we speculate that the high perceived quality of life of long-term survivors of childhood malignancies is at least in part a consequence of denial mechanisms which compensate or even overcompensate the objec tively measurable late effects of childhood cancer. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd