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(R) 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.