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. 2014 Oct;113(1):89-94.
doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2014.08.017. Epub 2014 Oct 7.

Quality of life outcomes in proton and photon treated pediatric brain tumor survivors

Torunn I Yock  1 , Sundeep Bhat  2 , Jackie Szymonifka  3 , Beow Y Yeap  3 , Jennifer Delahaye  4 , Sarah S Donaldson  5 , Shannon M MacDonald  6 , Margaret B Pulsifer  7 , Kristen S Hill  4 , Thomas F DeLaney  6 , David Ebb  8 , Mary Huang  8 , Nancy J Tarbell  6 , Paul Graham Fisher  9 , Karen A Kuhlthau  10
Affiliations

Quality of life outcomes in proton and photon treated pediatric brain tumor survivors

Torunn I Yock et al. Radiother Oncol. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Radiotherapy can impair Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in survivors of childhood brain tumors, but proton radiotherapy (PRT) may mitigate this effect. This study compares HRQoL in PRT and photon (XRT) pediatric brain tumor survivors.

Methods: HRQoL data were prospectively collected on PRT-treated patients aged 2-18 treated at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Cross-sectional PedsQL data from XRT treated Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH) patients provided the comparison data.

Results: Parent proxy HRQoL scores were reported at 3 years for the PRT cohort (PRT-C) and 2.9 years (median) for the XRT cohort (XRT-C). The total core HRQoL score for the PRT-C, XRT-C, and normative population differed from one another and was 75.9, 65.4 and 80.9 respectively (p=0.002; p=0.024; p<0.001). The PRT-C scored 10.3 and 10.5 points higher than the XRT-C in the physical (PhSD) and psychosocial (PsSD) summary domains of the total core score (TCS, p=0.015; p=0.001). The PRT-C showed no difference in PhSD compared with the normative population, but scored 6.1 points less in the PsSD (p=0.003). Compared to healthy controls, the XRT-C scored lower in all domains (p<0.001).

Conclusions: The HRQoL of pediatric brain tumor survivors treated with PRT compare favorably to those treated with XRT and similar to healthy controls in the PhSD.

Keywords: Late effects; Outcomes; Pediatric brain tumors; Proton radiotherapy; QoL.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial Disclosures: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest with the exception of Nancy J. Tarbell, MD. Dr. Tarbell's husband is on the Medical Advisory Board for Procure.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) PedsQL scores in the proton, photon and normative cohorts (b) Total PedsQL core scores by diagnostic group and radiation type in MGH proton and LPCH photon cohorts. The bars represent the SEM (standard error of the mean).
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) PedsQL scores in the proton, photon and normative cohorts (b) Total PedsQL core scores by diagnostic group and radiation type in MGH proton and LPCH photon cohorts. The bars represent the SEM (standard error of the mean).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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