Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the indicators of quality of life (QoL) of children and adolescents with cancer and to evaluate the QoL of participants regarding oral health. Material and Methods: The modified Autoquestionnaire Qualite de Vie Enfant Image (AUQEI), with scores ranging from 0 to 78 and a cut-off value of 48, was the instrument used in this study. Questions were added regarding oral health, with scores ranging from 0 to 18. The study consisted of two groups: group 1 (case) consisted of 24 children and adolescents with cancer, and group 2 (control) consisted of 30 healthy children and adolescents aged 6 to 15 years old. A chi-square test was performed using the SPSS program, version 18.0, to determine whether health conditions were related to QoL. Results: We observed that 69.25% of participants had scores representing a satisfactory QoL, with a mean score of 54.3 (51.7 for the group of children and adolescents with cancer and 56.5 for the healthy group). The results of the present study showed a value of p =0.016, suggesting that the disease condition is related to lower QoL scores. The Mann-Whitney test showed that the healthy group showed significantly better indicators in the oral health domain. Conclusion: The children and adolescents under study showed satisfactory overall QoL standards; however, when comparing the cancer group to the healthy group, we observed that cancer is associated with lower QoL indicators.
Highlights
The assessment of quality of life (QoL), in children with cancer, is used to understand the impact of certain conditions inherent to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer on physical, social, and environmental aspects, to understand the factors that alter well-being and to contribute to the development of policies to optimise the distribution of resources for child development in a healthier manner [1].Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality in Brazil, and it is responsible for 13% of all deaths worldwide [2]
Regarding QoL related to oral health, G1 exhibited a higher frequency of answers with scores between 7 and 10, with a median of 8
In the oral health domain, we found that G2 patients reported happier feelings when going to the dentist than children and adolescents in G1
Summary
The assessment of quality of life (QoL), in children with cancer, is used to understand the impact of certain conditions inherent to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer on physical, social, and environmental aspects, to understand the factors that alter well-being and to contribute to the development of policies to optimise the distribution of resources for child development in a healthier manner [1].Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality in Brazil, and it is responsible for 13% of all deaths worldwide [2]. The assessment of quality of life (QoL), in children with cancer, is used to understand the impact of certain conditions inherent to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer on physical, social, and environmental aspects, to understand the factors that alter well-being and to contribute to the development of policies to optimise the distribution of resources for child development in a healthier manner [1]. The most common cancers in children are acute leukaemias, lymphomas, brain tumours, soft tissue tumours (sarcomas), and renal tumours [3,4]. The underlying disease and treatment of this specific group of patients produce a series of problems and negative impacts on physical and psychosocial aspects that need to be constantly assessed as part of health surveillance [5,6,7,8]. Different complications vary depending on the type of treatment used, and the main complications include mucositis, parotiditis, alterations in taste, xerostomia, pain, opportunistic infections, and spontaneous bleeding in the lips and gingiva [3,9]
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