TY - JOUR
T1 - Nausea and nausea-related symptoms in children with cancer
T2 - Presence, severity, risk factors and impact on quality of life during the first year of treatment
AU - van den Brink, Mirjam
AU - Been, Rosanne
AU - Grootenhuis, Martha A.
AU - van Gorp, Marloes
AU - Maaskant, Jolanda
AU - Fiocco, Marta
AU - Havermans, Remco C.
AU - de Vos-Kerkhof, Evelien
AU - Tissing, Wim J.E.
AU - Brinksma, Aeltsje
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/12/1
Y1 - 2023/12/1
N2 - Aims: Identify 1) presence of nausea and nausea-related symptoms and its relationship with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and 2) severity of nausea and associations with patient-related factors in children with cancer during the first year of treatment. Methods: A historical cohort study of 781 patients with cancer (2–21 years) was conducted. Presence and severity of nausea were assessed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after diagnosis using the nausea scale of the PedsQL3.0 Cancer Module, comprising 5 symptoms, using proxy-report (2–7 years) or self-report (8–21 years). Multivariable multilevel analyses were performed to evaluate the association between patient-related factors and nausea. Overall HRQoL (generic PedsQL) was compared between children with presence and absence of nausea related-symptoms. Results: The presence of nausea during medical treatment was highest at 6 months after diagnosis (42.9 %). Highest symptom presence was seen on the item “food not tasting good” (range 51.6 %-62.8 %). For all nausea-related symptoms, average HRQoL scores were 9.9–14.4 points lower for patients with symptoms compared to patients without symptoms. Pain, treatment anxiety, and worry were significantly associated with nausea in all children. In patients aged 8–21 years, male gender, a solid tumor, and BMI were associated with nausea. Patients with solid tumors were at higher risk of nausea compared to patients with hematological malignancies or brain/CNS tumors. Patients with a high BMI reported less nausea compared to patients with a normal BMI. Conclusion: Nausea is still a major problem in children with cancer and has a negative impact on HRQoL.
AB - Aims: Identify 1) presence of nausea and nausea-related symptoms and its relationship with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and 2) severity of nausea and associations with patient-related factors in children with cancer during the first year of treatment. Methods: A historical cohort study of 781 patients with cancer (2–21 years) was conducted. Presence and severity of nausea were assessed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after diagnosis using the nausea scale of the PedsQL3.0 Cancer Module, comprising 5 symptoms, using proxy-report (2–7 years) or self-report (8–21 years). Multivariable multilevel analyses were performed to evaluate the association between patient-related factors and nausea. Overall HRQoL (generic PedsQL) was compared between children with presence and absence of nausea related-symptoms. Results: The presence of nausea during medical treatment was highest at 6 months after diagnosis (42.9 %). Highest symptom presence was seen on the item “food not tasting good” (range 51.6 %-62.8 %). For all nausea-related symptoms, average HRQoL scores were 9.9–14.4 points lower for patients with symptoms compared to patients without symptoms. Pain, treatment anxiety, and worry were significantly associated with nausea in all children. In patients aged 8–21 years, male gender, a solid tumor, and BMI were associated with nausea. Patients with solid tumors were at higher risk of nausea compared to patients with hematological malignancies or brain/CNS tumors. Patients with a high BMI reported less nausea compared to patients with a normal BMI. Conclusion: Nausea is still a major problem in children with cancer and has a negative impact on HRQoL.
KW - Childhood cancer
KW - Nausea
KW - Quality of life
KW - Smell
KW - Taste
U2 - 10.1016/j.ejcped.2023.100128
DO - 10.1016/j.ejcped.2023.100128
M3 - Article
VL - 2
JO - EJC Paediatric Oncology
JF - EJC Paediatric Oncology
M1 - 100128
ER -