The Italian Consensus Conference on the role of rehabilitation for children and adolescents with leukemia, central nervous system tumors, and bone cancer, part 2: general principles for the rehabilitation treatment of motor function impairments

Abstract

In Italy, 1400 children and 800 adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every year. About 80% of them can be cured but are at high risk of experiencing severe side effects, many of which respond to rehabilitation treatment. Due to the paucity of literature on this topic, the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology organized a Consensus Conference on the role of rehabilitation of motor impairments in children/adolescents affected by leukemia, central nervous system tumors, and bone cancer to state recommendations to improve clinical practice. This paper includes the consensus on the rehabilitation of children and adolescents with these cancers.

Keywords:

• Rehabilitation
• rehabilitative intervention
• physical therapy
• pediatric oncology

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the following people who contributed to the Consensus Conference: Rachele Antonini, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano; Veronica Biassoni, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano; Valentina De Cecco, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Roma; Sonia Di Profio, Ospedale Pediatrico Giannina Gaslini, Genova; Simone Macchi, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano; Francesca Passano, Ospedale Pediatrico Giannina Gaslini, Genova; Federico Piccioni, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù - IRCCS, Roma; Monica Pinto, Fondazione G. Pascale, Istituto Nazionale Tumori - IRCCS, Napoli; Geraldina Poggi, Istituto Scientifico per la Medicina della Riabilitazione Eugenio Medea – IRCCS, Polo scientifico di Bosisio Parini, Lecco; Valentina Porcaro, Associazione “Con Volontà Puoi” (patients’ representative), Torino; Marco Ravizzotti, Dipartimento di Salute Pubblica e Scienze Pediatriche, Università di Torino, Torino; Ilaria Ripamonti, Fondazione MBBM, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Ospedale San Gerardo, Monza; Emma Sarlo, Unione Genitori Italiani contro il tumore dei bambini ONLUS (patients’ representative), Torino; Danila Siravegna, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Ospedale Pediatrico Regina Margherita, Torino; Marco Spinelli, Fondazione MBBM, Università Milano-Bicocca, Ospedale San Gerardo, Monza, Italy; Sandro Stefanin, Università di Torino, Torino; Giulia Zucchetti, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Ospedale Pediatrico Regina Margherita, Torino. The authors would also thank Jaqueline M. Costa for the English language editing.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.