Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Oct;15(10):898-910.
doi: 10.1002/pon.1024.

Persistent psychological distress in long-term survivors of pediatric sarcoma: the experience at a single institution

Lori Wiener  1 , Haven Battles, Donna Bernstein, Lauren Long, Joanne Derdak, Crystal L Mackall, Patrick J Mansky
Affiliations

Persistent psychological distress in long-term survivors of pediatric sarcoma: the experience at a single institution

Lori Wiener et al. Psychooncology. 2006 Oct.

Abstract

Background: The long-term psychological impact of pediatric sarcoma is largely unknown. As part of a cross-sectional study examining the late effects of pediatric sarcoma therapy, we examined whether psychological distress or posttraumatic stress symptoms are present in an adult cohort of pediatric sarcoma survivors.

Method: Thirty-four patients participated in the study, an average of 17 years after their treatment ended, each completing the SCID module for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Impact of Events Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and a questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables and psychosocial issues.

Results: Significant persistent psychological distress characterized this cohort of patients. Seventy-seven percent scored in the clinical range on the BSI. Twelve percent met diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Current psychological distress was associated with intrusive thoughts and avoidant behaviors, male gender, employment, difficulty readjusting to work/school after treatment, and enduring worries about health. No differences were found based on age, presence of metastatic disease or time since diagnosis.

Conclusions: This is the first report of a clinical evaluation of psychological distress in a cohort of pediatric sarcoma survivors treated with intensive multimodal cancer therapy. The results suggest that survivors of pediatric sarcoma might be at high risk for adverse psychological outcomes. Appropriate interventions are proposed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percent of males and females scoring in the clinical range on the BSI.
Figure 2
Figure 2
GSI Scores for men and women in study and comparison groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
IES Intrusion and avoidance scores for men and women in study and comparison groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alderfer M, Labay LE, Kazak AE. Brief report: Does posttraumatic stress apply to siblings of childhood cancer survivors? J Adv Nurs. 2003;28:281–286. - PubMed
    1. Alter CL, Pelcovitz D, Axelrod A, et al. Identification of PTSD in cancer survivors. Psychosomatics. 1996;37:137–143. - PubMed
    1. Anholt UV, Fritz GK, Keener M. Self-concept in survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer. J Psychosoc Oncol. 1993;11:1–16.
    1. Bacci G, Forni C, Longhi A, et al. Long-term outcome for patients with non-metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma treated with adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapies. 402 patients treated at Rizzoli between 1972 and 1992. Eur J Cancer. 2004;40(1):73–83. - PubMed
    1. Barakat LP, Kazak AE, Meadows AT, Casey R, Meeske K, Stuber ML. Families surviving childhood cancer: a comparison of posttraumatic stress symptoms with families of healthy children. J Pediatr Psychol. 1997;22:843–859. - PubMed