Quality of life in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer

Background and objective: To assess health-related quality of life of adolescent survivors of childhood cancer, compared to adolescent's health-related quality of life who had no history of cancer. Patients and method: A total of 372 adolescents aged between 14 and 19 years, 34 cancer survivors and a comparison group of 338 peers without a history of cancer, were assessed. All of them filled in the SF-12v2 in a cross-sectional study. Results: Survivors revealed significantly higher mean values compared to the normative group for the Mental Component Scale (MCS) from the SF-12v2 (52,60 vs. 47,85; p=0,004; IC 95%, -7,9--1,6). No significant differences between groups were found for the Physical Component Scale (PCS), even though adolescent survivors of childhood cancer showed higher mean scores (54,03 vs. 52,72). Conclusions: Adolescent cancer survivors showed a satisfactory quality of life (mean scores around the normative values), and, specifically, they reported greater perception of psychological wellbeing compared to peers. © 2008 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.