Evaluation of the main late endocrine effects in children and adolescents after treatment of malignancies

Objective: To report the main endocrine effects after cancer treatment in children and adolescents and associate them to the disease and its treatment. Subjects and methods: Clinical and lab evaluation for endocrinopathy was performed in 320 patients after cancer therapy have been followed for six years. Results: The most prevalent endocrine late effects in patients were: 32 patients had short stature, nine of them were under growth hormone therapy. Precocious puberty was found in 14 patients, 10 of them received GnRH analog. Thyroid diseases were present in 19 patients (12 with hypothyroidism; six with thyroid nodules/cysts; one with chronic lymphocytic thyroidytis). Obesity was found in 18 patients. Six presented insipidus diabetes, five delayed puberty and three panhypopituitarism. Radiation was associated with the appearance of the aforementioned endocrinopathies. Conclusion: Ninety four of 320 (30%) patients presented endocrine late effects which emphasize the importance for these patients to be regularly followed-up in order to precociously diagnose endocrine late effects and provide them a better quality of life. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab. 2010;54(9):819-25