Growth and Endocrine Function in Long-term Adult Survivors of Childhood Stem Cell Transplant.
The number of long-term surviving stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients has increased steadily, and attention has now extended to the late complications of this procedure. The objective of this study was to investigate relationship among growth and endocrine functions in long-term adult survivors of childhood SCT. The inclusion criteria of this study were survival at least 5 yr after SCT and achievement of adult height. Fifty-four patients (39 males) fulfilled these criteria and were included in this study. Growth was mainly evaluated by height standard deviation score (SDS) and individual longitudinal growth curves. Among the 54 patients, those that received SCT before 10 yr of age showed significantly greater reductions in changes in height SDS (mean -1.75, range -4.80 to -0.10) compared with those that received SCT at or after 10 yr of age (mean -0.50, range -1.74 to 1.20; P<0.001). The mean loss of height for all patients who received SCT during childhood was estimated to be approximately 1 SDS/6.5 yr (r=0.517). Individual longitudinal growth curves indicated that a significant growth spurt was absent in severe short stature patients during the pubertal period without severe endocrine dysfunctions including GH deficiency. The incidence of growth disorder in long-term adult survivors depends on the age at SCT and whether they received radiation therapy. Life-long follow-up is necessary for survivors to detect, prevent and treat the late endocrine complications in SCT survivors.
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Hiroyuki
H
Ishiguro
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Yukiharu
Y
Yasuda
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Hiromi
H
Hyodo
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Yuichiro
Y
Tomita
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Takashi
T
Koike
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Tsuyoshi
T
Shinagawa
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Takashi
T
Shimizu
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Tsuyoshi
T
Morimoto
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Kinya
K
Hattori
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Masae
M
Matsumoto
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Hiroyasu
H
Inoue
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan ; Department of Cell Transplantation & Regenerative Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Hiromasa
H
Yabe
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Miharu
M
Yabe
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Osamu
O
Shinohara
Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan ; Department of Cell Transplantation & Regenerative Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Shunichi
S
Kato
endocrine function; growth disorder; long-term adult survivors