title: Influence of treatment modalities on prepubertal growth in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: The statural growth of 85 prepubertal children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia was evaluated in a longitudinal study over 4.5 years. Patients were divided into three groups according to central nervous system prophylaxis: 37 patients received cranial irradiation with a dose of 24 Gy, 15 received a dose of 18 Gy, and 33 were not irradiated. According to the risk of leukemia, patients were divided into normal-risk (n = 74) and high-risk (n = 11) groups. The duration of treatment was 2 years, during which all patients showed growth retardation. The relative standard deviation score for height declined from 0 to -0.7 for the irradiated patients and from 0 to -0.2 for the non-irradiated group (P = 0.0001). There was no difference in growth pattern between cranial irradiation with 18 versus 24 Gy and chemotherapeutic treatment according to high-risk versus normal-risk protocols. However, a negative synergistic effect of more intensive chemotherapy and cranial irradiation on growth was demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Oncology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Groot-Loonen
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van't Hof
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lippens
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Stoelinga
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D016371:Cranial Irradiation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000628:therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors