A prospective study examining the relationship between health-related quality of life and survival in pediatric cancer patients

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between health-related quality of life and survival in long-term (5+ years) survivors of childhood cancer. There has been literature in the adult cancer population suggesting a predictive factor of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and survivability. There has not been much research in this area with children. The present study also examined psychosocial predictors of HRQOL and survival, such as perceived social support, psychological distress, and disease severity. Fatigue was also explored as an outcome variable due to it being reported as a common effect of having a severe illness, such as cancer.; A total of 291 pediatric cancer patients participated in the original study at time 1. Medical data for the current study was collected on 241 children at time 2, across three major Southern California Children's Hospitals. A total of 45 long-term survivors were able to be located and agreed to participate in the present study.; Overall findings indicated that HRQOL was not a significant predictor of survival in children surviving cancer. Social support and psychological distress were predictive of HRQOL during the time 1 interview. Psychological distress at time 1 was a predictor of fatigue at time 2. Increased perceived social support was found to be associated with decreased distress and depression, and an increased quality of life. Health-related quality of life five years post treatment was found to be comparable to those of a healthy sample, as researched by Varni et al. (2001). Long-term survivors of childhood cancer appear to be resilient and report good to excellent HRQOL.