Education and employment in long-term survivors of high-grade osteosarcoma: a Japanese single-center experience.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of education and employment of long-term survivors who became physically handicapped after treatment for high-grade osteosarcoma.
METHODS: Of the osteosarcoma patients treated at our hospital, 41 patients aged less than 18 years at the initial presentation who were free of disease for 10 years or longer after the end of treatment were studied. The status of their education and employment was investigated via a questionnaire.
RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients responded to the questionnaire (response rate, 65.9%). Of these patients, 73.1% (19/26) could return to the school they had attended before the disease, and 52% (13/25) graduated from college or university. The percentage of those who went to college or university was higher in the limb-sparing group. Seventy-two percent of the patients were engaged in clerical work, and the mean annual income was 4.01 million JPY (corresponding to about 24,000 EUR). No difference was noted in the status of employment between the amputation and limb-sparing groups.
CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of patients who went to college or university was similar to the percentage in all Japanese. However, the status of the diseased limb appeared to affect school attendance. The mean annual income of the patients was comparable to that of the national average, and they experienced no major problems in their employment. Physical disabilities posed few problems in their daily living. (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel