Adult survivors of pediatric cancer who underwent brain irradiation at risk for hormone deficiencies

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, have found that adult survivors of pediatric cancer are at risk for developing pituitary hormone deficiencies that may worsen their health and quality of life.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from 748 adults survivors of pediatric leukemia, brain, and other cancers that had received brain irradiation as part of their treatment in order to determine the long-term effect of the treatment on function of the pituitary gland.

Results showed that 51.4% of adult survivors were deficient in at least one of the hormones studied and 10.9% of survivors had multiple hormone deficiencies. The most common hormone deficiency involved gonadotropins, which play a role in fertility and reproduction.

Researchers also found that patients with those hormone deficiencies were more likely to be undiagnosed, and those were untreated were more likely to experience poor fitness, muscle weakness, heart disease risk factors, and other factors linked with an elevated risk of frailty and decreased mortality.

The authors note that additional research is warranted to to help manage patients with growth hormone deficiency.