Till Örebro universitet

Purpose: Health-Related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) among enucleated retinoblastoma (RB) survivors is scarcely studied. Perceptual Visual Dysfunctions (PVDs) are problems concerning interpretation of visual input, that to our knowledge, previously not has been studied in RB patients. This prospective cross-sectional cohort study aim to evaluate HR-QoL and PVDs in RB individuals, treated with ocular prosthesis.

Methods: Twenty-seven RB individuals were treated with ocular prosthesis at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, between 2000-2019. All were invited to the study, 15 (10 females; mean age 15.6 years, range 6.8-27.0 years) accepted. HR-QoL was assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life inventory (PedsQL) with patients self- and parents-proxy report. Results were compared to normative data. PVDs was examined by history taking covering five areas and results were compared with a healthy, age- and sex- matched control group. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was measured.

Results: No differences were found in HR-QoL of individuals with RB compared with healthy controls, between parent proxy compared with parents of healthy children or between individuals with RB and their corresponding parents. More individuals with RB (9/15) reported PVDs in one or more areas (median 1; range 1-4) compared with 1/15 healthy controls; p=0.005 (Fig. 1). Depth perception was the most frequent reported PVD area (n=6), followed by simultaneous perception (n=5), movement (n=2), recognition (n=1) and orientation (n=1). Better HR-QoL correlated with better BCVA (r = -0.68; p=0.01) and fewer affected PVD areas (r = -0.63; p=0.01).

Conclusions: The results showed no difference in HR-QoL of the RB individuals or parent-proxy compared with healthy controls. However, enucleated RB survivors were more affected by PVDs than healthy individuals. Their HR-QoL can be negatively affected by having problems within several PVD areas, and BCVA comprise an important role in QoL. It is necessary to identify PVDs to promote the best health care in individuals with RB treated with ocular prothesis. Further research is needed to better understand the impact on QoL and the role of PVDs among these individuals.