Quality of life in long-term survivors treated for metastatic medulloblastoma with a hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (HART) strategy.

PURPOSE: An intensive therapeutic strategy for metastatic medulloblastoma was launched in 1998 in our Institution. The aim of this study was to examine the long-term quality of life (QoL) in survivor patients at least 3 years after the end of the treatment.

METHODS: Patients were asked to complete self-administered QoL questionnaires. An index of physical impairment (IPI) was scored (range 0-100; the lower the score the better) based on clinical objective observations. Patients were divided into two groups (lower IPI group, and higher IPI group) and descriptively compared accordingly.

RESULTS: The study was completed by 25/33 eligible patients. Despite patients with a higher IPI reported worse perceived health condition, they had better emotional and psychological scores than those with a lower IPI in all QoL questionnaires.

CONCLUSION: In our sample, patients with more severe objective and perceived physical impairments reported a better psychosocial QoL, possibly because the greater attention paid to them by society and family contributes to a better adjustment in long-term survivors. On this base, it should be recommended that all survivors receive a strong support as the most impaired patients.