Assessment of Health Related Quality of Life among School Children with Cancer in Alexandria

In recent years, the necessity of measuring health related quality of life (HRQOL) among children with cancer has been stressed. The aim of the present work was to assess the HRQOL in terms of physical, emotional and social functioning, to identify some predictors of QOL and to describe the scholastic achievement and nutritional status among school children with cancer in Alexandria. A cross-sectional study of 215 students with cancer who attended the oncology school health insurance clinic of Sporting Student’s Hospital in Alexandria governorate within a period of one month (June 2005) was conducted. Every child was subjected to the Pediatric Oncology Quality Of Life scale to assess the quality of life with cancer. Anthropometric measurements including weight and height were measured for each child and BMI was calculated. Review of records of each child was done to take the last heamoglobin level. Lymphoma was the most common tumour (34.9%), followed by leukemia (24.2%), brain tumour (13.0%), osteosarcoma (7.9%), and Wilm’s tumour (7%). About one third of the sample (36.7%) reported poor QOL which was more evident in the physical domain (54.4%), as compared to 34.4% in emotional domain and 26% in the social domain. Sex (p<0.05), age (p<0.05), complications (p<0.01), place of treatment (p<0.05), place of diagnosis (p<0.05) and treatment (p<0.05) were all significantly associated with QOL. However after adjustment for other variables, poor QOL was more likely among students of younger age, students with complications, and students whose diagnosis was done at the student hospital. About two thirds of the sample (68.5 %) reported poor scholastic achievement, 25.1% were underweight and 87.4% were anemic. Conclusion and recommendations: HRQOL measurement should be done as a routine for all children with cancer in order to identify specific therapies that require modifications in management. More efforts are needed to improve the health care in the student’s hospital, especially for young children with cancer.