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Effect of chemotherapy on growth
A L Ogilvy-Stuart1, S M Shalet
1Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, Withington, Manchester, UK.
Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). Supplement
|September 1, 1995
Summary
Childhood cancer treatments, including CT scans and spinal irradiation, significantly impair growth, especially when combined. Standard growth hormone (GH) therapy is often insufficient to overcome this severe growth restriction.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Pediatric Oncology
- Radiation Oncology
Background:
- Childhood cancer treatments can lead to significant long-term side effects.
- Growth restriction is a known complication, even without direct hypothalamic-pituitary axis irradiation.
- Cranial irradiation and CT scans are common in treating pediatric central nervous system tumors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of specific cancer treatments on childhood growth.
- To assess the effectiveness of growth hormone (GH) therapy in mitigating treatment-induced growth failure.
Main Methods:
- Reviewing growth data in pediatric patients treated for malignancies.
- Analyzing the effects of CT scans and spinal irradiation on linear growth.
- Comparing outcomes with and without GH therapy at conventional doses.
Main Results:
- Growth restriction is evident post-treatment for childhood malignancies.
- Combined CT and spinal irradiation profoundly impacts growth.
- Conventional dose growth hormone therapy does not fully reverse this effect.
Conclusions:
- Cancer treatments, particularly combined irradiation, cause severe growth deficits in children.
- Current GH therapy protocols may be inadequate for these patients.
- Further research into optimizing GH therapy or alternative strategies is warranted.