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Comparing the Impact of Cancer on Quality of Life Between Survivors of Childhood Solid Tumors and Leukemia

Completed
Conditions
Childhood Solid Tumor
Interventions
Other: questionnaires
Registration Number
NCT03430752
Lead Sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Brief Summary

The aim of the study is to examine the impact of cancer and treatment-related effects on the physical and psychosocial well-being and quality of life among Hong Kong Chinese survivors of childhood solid tumors.

Detailed Description

In general, cancer can be divided into two main categories: blood cancer and solid tumors. Leukemia refer to the cancers in blood while solid tumors refer to the cancers which involve the formation of an abnormal mass without any liquid or cysts. Patients suffer from leukemia are usually have better prognosis which result in better psychological well-being when compared with those suffer from solid tumors (Rodin et al., 2010). The development of solid tumors in children is different from that in adult. Some of the solid tumors such as osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Wilms' tumor and retinoblastoma are exclusively found in children. Other types of solid tumors such as brain tumor can also be found in children.

Yet, most of recent studies in Hong Kong have focused in general childhood cancer survivors or their family members but no study has been conducted to focus on the physical and psychological well-being of survivors of childhood solid tumors (Li, Lopez, Chung, Ho, \& Chiu, 2013; Wills, 2009). Therefore, the quality of life and psychological well-being of solid tumors survivors are always be overestimated. The actual psychological needs of solid tumors survivors may be overlooked. There is thus an imperative need to investigate the impact of cancer and treatment-related effects on the physical and psychosocial well-being and quality of life among Hong Kong Chinese survivors of childhood solid tumors.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
135
Inclusion Criteria
  • (1) Hong Kong Chinese under the age of 30 years at the time of study participation;
  • (2) diagnosed with solid tumors or hematological malignancies under the age of 19 years;
  • (3) completed the entire course of treatment for at least 6 months;
  • (4) able to speak fluent Cantonese and read Chinese.
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Exclusion Criteria
  • Survivors with secondary malignancy, organic cause psychosis, cognitive or learning problems, or under active cancer treatment will be excluded from this study.
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Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Survivors of Childhood LeukemiaquestionnairesSurvivors of Childhood Leukemia were invited to fill in a set of questionnaires.
Survivors of Childhood Solid TumorsquestionnairesSurvivors of Childhood Solid Tumors were invited to fill in a set of questionnaires.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Quality of Life at baselineBaseline

The Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory 4.0 Generic core sales (PedsQL 4.0) consists of 23 items which are designed to measure the quality of life in four particular domains including physical ability, psychological states, social relationships and school functioning. PedsQL 4.0 is a five-point Likert scale for patients to response regarding to the experience over the last month. Higher scores represent better quality of life. Participants will be asked to respond to the Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory 4.0 Generic core sales (PedsQL 4.0) at baseline.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Levels of self-esteem at baselineBaseline

The self-esteem of the participants will be measured by the Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES). RSES consists of 10 items with a four-point response Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree) and the total scores is ranging from 10 to 40. Higher scores represent higher levels of self-esteem. Participants will be asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) at baseline.

Number of depressive symptoms at baselineBaseline

The number of depressive symptoms of the participants will be measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale for children (CES-DC). It is able to assess the numbers of depressive symptoms due to the experience of past week. The scale consists of 20 items with four-point Likert scale for patients to response and the total score is ranging from 0 to 60. Higher scores represent greater numbers of depressive symptoms while lower scores represent fewer numbers of depressive symptoms. Participants will be asked to respond to the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale for children (CES-DC) at baseline.

Level of sense of hope at baselineBaseline

The sense of hope of the participants will be measured by the Chinese version of Herth Hope Index (HHI). It is a 12-item psychometric scale to measure the sense of hope. Each item contains four-point scale ("strong disagree" = "1", "disagree" = "2", "agree" = "3", "strong agree" = "4"). The total score of the 12 items ranging from 12 to 48 and higher scores imply increasing hopefulness. Participants will be asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Herth Hope Index (HHI) at baseline.

Resilience ability at baselineBaseline

Resilience Scale for Children (RS10) is a 10-item scale to assess the adjustment ability for adapting adverse conditions such as cancer. The scale consists of 10 items with four-point Likert scale ("not at all like me"= "1", "not much like me" = "2", "somewhat like me" = "3", "a lot like me" = "4"). The total score is ranging from 10 to 40 which higher scores represent higher level of resilience. Participants will be asked to respond to the Chinese version of the Resilience Scale for Children (RS10) at baseline.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The University of Hong Kong

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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