Deficits in physical function among young childhood cancer survivors.

Over 60% of long-term childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) will develop chronic conditions related to prior cancer treatments. This results in physical impairments that contribute to long-term health problems and functional decline. In addition, CCSs are less physically active than siblings, due to treatment-related neurologic or musculoskeletal issues. Therapy-induced limitations in physical performance may contribute to sedentary lifestyles and reduced cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal function. This study aimed to compare physical performance between CCSs and siblings and to determine associations with cancer diagnosis and treatment to identify individuals most in need of rehabilitation services.

Lower-extremity strength (3 different knee angles), grip strength, mobility (TUG-test), and cardiopulmonary fitness (6-minute walk (6MW) test was) were measured in CCSs (n=183) and siblings (n=143) with a mean age of 13.5 years.

Lower-extremity strength was reduced among the survivors, particularly those treated for CNS tumor or bone or soft tissue sarcoma. CNS tumor survivors had compromised mobility and cardiopulmonary fitness. The most compelling finding in this study was that overall, CCSs performed worse than siblings on every measure of physical function.

The results in this study indicate that CCSs have underlying physiologic changes related to cancer or therapy that have an impact on physical function. Furthermore, even when CCSs adopt a healthy lifestyle that should reduce the risk for physical performance limitations, they cannot completely overcome early physiologic changes. Finally, this study emphasizes the important role and the need of the physiotherapist in the development of treatment interventions specifically designed to target physiologic deficits in CCSs. > From: Hoffman et al., J Clin Oncol 31 (2013) 2799-2805. All rights reserved to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The Pubmed summary of the article can be studied here.

See more information about the late effects of treatment of childhood cancer survivors.