Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?
Abstract Purpose Centralization of specialized healthcare including treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has increased in high-income countries. We aimed to clarify whether the distance to the hospital for children with ALL affects the course of treatment regarding the numbe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06127-8 |
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| author | Cecilie Bjerregaard Brix Mette Bitsch Linck Hansen Rikke Io Jessen Cecilie Møller Høymark Regitze Gyldenholm Skals Søren Hagstrøm Ninna Brix |
| author_facet | Cecilie Bjerregaard Brix Mette Bitsch Linck Hansen Rikke Io Jessen Cecilie Møller Høymark Regitze Gyldenholm Skals Søren Hagstrøm Ninna Brix |
| author_sort | Cecilie Bjerregaard Brix |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Purpose Centralization of specialized healthcare including treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has increased in high-income countries. We aimed to clarify whether the distance to the hospital for children with ALL affects the course of treatment regarding the number and duration of hospitalizations, outpatient clinic visits, missed appointments in the outpatient clinic, the duration of follow-up, or survival. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of children diagnosed with ALL aged 0–14 at Aalborg University Hospital from 1996 to 2018. Data was collected through registries and medical records. Comparisons of cancer- and sociodemographic characteristics in children with long versus short distance were made, divided at 42 km. Outcome variables were assessed by correlation and regression analyses. We compared overall survival using Kaplan-Meier. Results The cohort consisted of 95 children. Cancer- and sociodemographic characteristics of the children with long versus short distance were similar, though the children with long distance were older and had less infections during treatment. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the number of hospitalizations, outpatient clinic visits, missed appointments, the duration of follow-up, or survival. Though, the summarized length of hospitalization was shorter for the group with long distance, when adjusting for age (-23 days (95% CI -45;-1)). Conclusion No significant differences between the course of treatment and follow-up for children with long and short distance to the hospital was revealed, except for a shorter summarized length of hospitalization for children with long distance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-80baf29cc1d44b2d8b47a992329dad77 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1432-1335 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology |
| spelling | doaj-art-80baf29cc1d44b2d8b47a992329dad772025-08-20T02:56:12ZengSpringerJournal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology1432-13352025-02-01151211010.1007/s00432-025-06127-8Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?Cecilie Bjerregaard Brix0Mette Bitsch Linck Hansen1Rikke Io Jessen2Cecilie Møller Høymark3Regitze Gyldenholm Skals4Søren Hagstrøm5Ninna Brix6Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Aalborg University HospitalDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Aalborg University HospitalDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Aalborg University HospitalDepartment of Sociology and Social Work, Aalborg UniversityResearch Data and Biostatistics, Aalborg University HospitalDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Aalborg University HospitalDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Aalborg University HospitalAbstract Purpose Centralization of specialized healthcare including treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has increased in high-income countries. We aimed to clarify whether the distance to the hospital for children with ALL affects the course of treatment regarding the number and duration of hospitalizations, outpatient clinic visits, missed appointments in the outpatient clinic, the duration of follow-up, or survival. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of children diagnosed with ALL aged 0–14 at Aalborg University Hospital from 1996 to 2018. Data was collected through registries and medical records. Comparisons of cancer- and sociodemographic characteristics in children with long versus short distance were made, divided at 42 km. Outcome variables were assessed by correlation and regression analyses. We compared overall survival using Kaplan-Meier. Results The cohort consisted of 95 children. Cancer- and sociodemographic characteristics of the children with long versus short distance were similar, though the children with long distance were older and had less infections during treatment. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the number of hospitalizations, outpatient clinic visits, missed appointments, the duration of follow-up, or survival. Though, the summarized length of hospitalization was shorter for the group with long distance, when adjusting for age (-23 days (95% CI -45;-1)). Conclusion No significant differences between the course of treatment and follow-up for children with long and short distance to the hospital was revealed, except for a shorter summarized length of hospitalization for children with long distance.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06127-8Acute lymphoblastic leukemiaALLLeukemiaDistanceChildren |
| spellingShingle | Cecilie Bjerregaard Brix Mette Bitsch Linck Hansen Rikke Io Jessen Cecilie Møller Høymark Regitze Gyldenholm Skals Søren Hagstrøm Ninna Brix Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia? Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology Acute lymphoblastic leukemia ALL Leukemia Distance Children |
| title | Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia? |
| title_full | Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia? |
| title_fullStr | Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia? |
| title_short | Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia? |
| title_sort | does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow up for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
| topic | Acute lymphoblastic leukemia ALL Leukemia Distance Children |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06127-8 |
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