Biopsychosocial Antecedents and Symptom Burden Among Children Undergoing Cancer Treatment: A Systematic Review.
Mays Basha, Rachel Hawn, Alicia Kilfoy et al.
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In 30 seconds
This systematic review synthesized evidence on factors associated with symptom burden in children under 18 undergoing cancer treatment. Following screening of 5,254 articles, 74 were included. Although nonsignificant findings were more common for several factors, significant results consistently linked greater symptom burden with older age, female gender, shorter time since diagnosis or treatment, relapse or metastatic disease, and higher-intensity treatment. Findings for biomarkers varied in direction, while evidence for race, ethnicity, cancer type, and treatment type was mostly nonsignificant and inconsistent.
Key findings
- The review included 74 articles after screening and full-text review of 5,254 articles.
- Significant findings consistently associated greater symptom burden with older age, female gender, shorter time since diagnosis or treatment, relapse or metastatic disease, and high-intensity treatment.
- Biomarker associations were often significant but mixed in direction; findings for race, ethnicity, cancer type, and treatment type were mostly nonsignificant and inconsistent.
Why it matters
Recognizing factors that repeatedly track with greater symptom burden may help clarify which children could be at risk and guide research into underlying mechanisms. The review also highlights substantial uncertainty for several commonly considered characteristics, underscoring the need for more consistent evidence before drawing conclusions about their relationship to symptoms.
What to keep in mind
The review reports heterogeneous findings across studies, including mixed directions for biomarker associations and mostly nonsignificant or inconsistent results for several other antecedents.