Abstract
BackgroundLittle is known about depression and anxiety among paediatric intracranial germ cell tumour (iGCT) survivors. We aimed to evaluate the risk factors associated with depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in paediatric iGCT survivors.MethodsWe recruited 200 iGCT patients (and their parents) from Beijing Tiantan Hospital and assessed their HRQoL using the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core Scales. The Children’s Depression Inventory, Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, and Symptom Checklist 90 were used to evaluate depression and anxiety. The results were analysed based on disease recurrence, tumour location and treatment strategies.ResultsSurvivors with recurrent tumours had worse HRQoL scores than those with non-recurrent tumours. Patients with tumours involving both the suprasellar and basal ganglia regions had the worst HRQoL scores. A large proportion of survivors had depression or anxiety. Both depression and anxiety scores were highly correlated with the HRQoL emotional functioning scores. The parent proxy-reports (PPR) and child self-reports were highly correlated in all domains.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the clinical factors affecting paediatric iGCT survivors’ depression, anxiety, and HRQoL. Therefore, psychological interventions should be implemented. It also suggests that the PedsQL PPR would be helpful for routine screening.
Highlights
Little is known about depression and anxiety among paediatric intracranial germ cell tumour survivors
Since the survival rate of patients with Intracranial germ cell tumours (iGCT) has been improving and the burden of long-term morbidity is substantial, promoting the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and reducing depression and anxiety among its survivors is of critical concern
Many studies have been published on factors related to the HRQoL of iGCT survivors, little is known about their long-term emotional function
Summary
Little is known about depression and anxiety among paediatric intracranial germ cell tumour (iGCT) survivors. We aimed to evaluate the risk factors associated with depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in paediatric iGCT survivors. In Asians, iGCT account for 8–14% of all paediatric central nervous system tumours, with an incidence rate that is several times higher than that of Europe and the US (0.5–3%) [1, 2]. Since the survival rate for iGCT has been improving and the burden of long-term morbidity is substantial, improving the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and reducing the rates of depression and anxiety among its survivors is of critical importance [4, 5]. Some studies have been published on factors related to the HRQoL of iGCT survivors [8, 9], little is known about their long-term emotional function. The low incidence of iGCTs, the small number of follow-up cases and the lack of universal and easy-to-use screening scales have made such studies difficult to carry out [4]
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