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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2013; 34(01): 8-10
DOI: 10.4103/0971-5851.113396
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Radiation-induced hypopituitarism in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Mehrdad Mirouliaei
Department of Pediatrics Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
,
Masoud Shabani
Department of Radiation Oncology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
,
Fatemeh Bakhshi
Department of Pediatrics Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
,
Mahtab Ordouei
Department of Pediatrics Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
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Abstract

Background: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy among children for whom radiotherapy and chemotherapy are used for treatment. When hypothalamus-pituitary axis is exposed to radiotherapy, children′s hormone level and quality of life are influenced. The aim of this study is to determine late effects of radiotherapy on hormonal level in these patients. Materials and Methods: In this study 27 children with ALL, who have been referred to Shahid Ramezanzadeh Radiation Oncology Center in Yazd-Iran and received 18-24 Gy whole brain radiation with Cobalt 60 or 9 MV linear accelerator, were assessed. These patient′s basic weight, height and hormonal levels were measured before radiotherapy and also after different periods of time. Results: GHD (growth hormone deficiency) after clonidine stimulation test was observed in 44% (n=12) and that in 50% of them (n =6), less than 1 year, had been passed from their radiation therapy. None of these patients demonstrated hormone deficiency in other axes. Conclusions: This study showed that even application of a 18-24 Gy radiation dose might influence growth hormone levels; therefore, we recommend reduction of radiotherapy dose in such patients whenever possible.

Keywords

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia - hypopituitarism - radiation


Publication History

Article published online:
20 July 2021

© 2013. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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