Key result
Among 102 childhood ALL survivors, 68.5% showed no late effects and 61% engaged in physical activity, with competitive sports more common in males than females (61% vs 18.5%, P<0.005).
Why the study?
What are the rates of therapy-related long-term adverse effects and physical activity participation in childhood ALL survivors?
Cohort (n=102)
No
What are the rates of therapy-related long-term adverse effects and physical activity participation in childhood ALL survivors?
Recent leukemia therapy regimens do not cause late effects that prevent survivors from participating in sports, and physical activity should be promoted in this population.
Physical activity appears feasible in ALL survivors; hypothesis-generating for modern regimens' effects on late effects.
In the present study the authors evaluated therapy-related long-term adverse effects and physical activity in a cohort of long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), diagnosed in their center between March 1991 and August 2000, treated according to the AIEOP (Associazione Italiana di Ematologia e Oncologia Pediatrica) ALL 91 or 95 study protocol and regularly seen in the authors' long-term follow-up unit. The authors analyzed the long-term sequelae of major body systems in this cohort of subjects and administered an "ad hoc" questionnaire concerning sport. The authors found that 70 patients out of 102 (68.5%) showed no late effects, 10% presented only instrumental or neuropsychological test abnormalities, and 21.5% had 1 or more clinical late sequelae. None of the evidenced late effects represented a contraindication to do physical activity. Sixty-one percent of survivors do physical activity, most of them regularly. Sixty-one percent of males and 18.5% of females (P < .005) do competitive sport (sports rates are similar to those of the general age-matched population). Nearly all subjects spontaneously choose to do sport and think physical exercise is an important and useful resource for their health. The authors conclude that the more recent therapy regimens for leukemia treatment, excluding bone marrow transplantation, do not seem to cause such late effects as to prevent survivors from doing sport. Therefore, in the care of ALL survivors, physical activity is not only not contraindicated, but should also be promoted as much as possible. The development of specific educational programs is warranted as part of the care of cancer survivors.
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Bertorello et al. (2011) conducted a cohort in Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) long-term survivors (n=102). Childhood ALL survivorship was evaluated on Absence of late effects. Among 102 childhood ALL survivors, 68.5% showed no late effects and 61% engaged in physical activity, with competitive sports more common in males than females (61% vs 18.5%, P<0.005).
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