Cancer related fatigue in children and adolescents. Prevalen¬ce and impact of the rehabilitation process on physical and cognitive dimensions: A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF) is identified by patients as one of the most distressing and persistent symptoms of physical, emotional, and/or cognitive exhaustion related to cancer and/or its treatment, negatively impacting the daily activities of Children and Adolescents (CA), and Child­hood Cancer Survivors (CCS). There is still limited evidence regarding timely treatment and intervention. The aim of this study is to inform about the current evidence related to CRF, its prevalence, and the impact of physical and cog­nitive rehabilitation in CA, and CCS. Material or Patients and Methods: Systematic review prepared based on the “Preferred Reporting Items for Sys­tematic Review and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA), over a period of one year, in the following scientific databases: EBSCO, Pubmed, Scielo and LILACS. Results: A total of 48 articles were descriptively analyzed in this review, divided between prevalence (58.3%) and intervention (41.7%). The results regarding prevalence were inconclusive. As for physical and cognitive interventions, all the studies analyzed provided evidence regarding their effectiveness, showing significant impact on the reduction of CRF and Quality of Life. Conclusion: It is necessary to standardize the use of scales for measuring CRF, as well as to educate health professionals, patients, and their families on its use. Addi­tionally, increasing funding for rehabilitation and research in this area for the population of CA and CCS is essential.