Unique associations of pain frequency and pain-related worry with health-related quality of life in survivors of childhood cancer

Abstract

More than one-third of childhood cancer survivors are worried about pain as a sign of disease recurrence; pain-related worry explained unique variance in health-related quality of life. Abstract Introduction: Pain is common during childhood cancer treatment, can persist into survivorship, and can negatively affect health-related quality of life in survivors of childhood cancers (SCCs). Objective: The objective of this brief report was to assess pain frequency, pain-related worry, and their (unique) associations with health-related quality of life in SCCs. Methods: One hundred eleven SCCs (52% female individuals, M age: 17.67 years, range 8–25 years) completed self-report measures of pain frequency, pain-related worry, and health-related quality of life. Results: More than two-thirds (70%) of SCCs reported pain in the previous month (M = 1.39, SD = 1.17), and 15% reported experiencing pain often or almost always. More than one-third (39%) reported worrying about pain as a sign of cancer recurrence (M = 0.73, SD = 1.07), and 9% reported worrying about pain a lot or a whole lot. In multivariate regression models that controlled for sex, age at diagnosis, and time off treatment, both pain frequency and pain-related worry were significantly associated with physical health-related quality of life, indicating that they contribute unique variance to health-related quality of life after childhood cancer. For emotional health-related quality of life, pain frequency was no longer a significant predictor once pain-related worry was added to the model, indicating that pain-related worry may be particularly important for understanding emotional health-related quality of life. Conclusion: Postcancer pain may contribute to health-related quality of life through multiple mechanisms, including by triggering concerns of recurrence. There is a need for clinical interventions that target both the frequency of pain (eg, behavioral interventions) and pain-related worry (eg, psychoeducation and cognitive interventions) to improve health-related quality of life after childhood cancer.