Late endocrine side effects in children with acute leukemia

This study was carried out in 28 patients (10 female, 18 male) diagnosed with acute leukemia, and aimed to investigate the abnormalities of endocrine system. Twenty-five of 28 patients were acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 3 were acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. Sixteen children were treated using BFM-90 chemotherapy protocol, and the rest with various regimens. Two patients were exposed to 12-13 Gy of total body irradiation followed by bone marrow transplantation. All patients were in remission at least five years. One (3%) of 28 patients had short stature and 4 (14%) had obesity. Pubertal status was retarded in 2 (7%) patients. Glucose intolerance, secondary hypothyroidism and hypergonadotropic hypogonadism were detected in 2, 1 and 2 patients, respectively. TSH response to TRH test was exaggerated in 1 and blunted in 3 patients. © Turkish Society of Hematology