Quality of Life in Ukrainian Children and Adolescents with Cancer Relocated to Switzerland During the Russian–Ukrainian War: An Exploratory Multicenter Study

The war in Ukraine, beginning in February 2022, disrupted continuous medical care for Ukrainian childhood and adolescent cancer patients (UCC), many of whom were relocated to pediatric cancer centers worldwide, including Switzerland. In this Brief Report, we describe their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after arrival. In a multicenter, cross-sectional survey across five Swiss pediatric oncology centers, we included patients ≤18 years at diagnosis who arrived after 24 February 2022 and were undergoing active treatment. HRQoL was assessed by the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales (self- and parent-reports). Fourteen of 23 eligible families (61%) participated. HRQoL declined with age, particularly in physical functioning, while psychosocial functioning remained relatively stable but lower among adolescents; parent scores closely matched self-reports. Scores were referenced against a published cohort of healthy Ukrainian children and previously reported pediatric cancer populations. Given the small sample and lack of a matched control group, the findings cannot separate the effects of displacement, cancer, and treatment and are hypothesis-generating. They suggest a potential role for age-tailored supportive care in displaced children with cancer and call for larger, controlled studies.