Caregivers’ Perspectives on Changes in Family Life During B-ALL Therapy: A Qualitative Study From the Children’s Oncology Group

Dreyzin A, Ware M, Stumbras K, Kairalla J, Hibbitts E, Mossman B, Balsamo L, Rodwin R, Ness KK, Conley CC, Raetz E, Devidas M, Sung L, Loh M, Hunger SP, Schore RJ, Angiolillo A, Kadan-Lottick N. Caregivers’ Perspectives on Changes in Family Life During B-ALL Therapy: A Qualitative Study From the Children’s Oncology Group. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Dec;72(12):e32057. doi: 10.1002/pbc.32057. Epub 2025 Sep 19. PMID: 40974099; PMCID: PMC12700121.

Treatment of pediatric B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) impacts both patients and their caregivers. An understanding of family functioning during therapy can inform family-centered care. We aimed to prospectively identify negative and positive changes in family life as perceived by caregivers throughout ALL therapy. Caregivers of children aged ≥4 years with average-risk B-ALL enrolled on the Children’s Oncology Group trial AALL0932 who consented to an ancillary study were asked: “How has family life changed since your child’s diagnosis of leukemia for the better or for the worse?” Written free responses were collected at approximately 2, 8, 17, 26 (end of therapy for females), and 38 (end of therapy for males) months post-diagnosis. Inductive content analysis was used to create codes, subcategories, and categories. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and frequencies of reported codes.