Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3869

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most prevalent cancer diagnosed in pediatric population. After treatment and subsequent follow- up, most children and adolescents affected by ALL are able to resume their normal routines. However, survivors of childhood cancer require careful ongoing monitoring, as the side effects of cancer therapies may emerge years following the treatment especially the endocrine disorders and its effect on growth, puberty, thyroid gland and gonadal development.

Aim: To estimate the probability of late endocrine disorders in children who received chemotherapy during their treatment for ALL at Borg El-Arab University Pediatric Oncology Hospital, Egypt & to assess the anthropometric measurements and pubertal staging and determine the risk factors for development of endocrine disorders in these children

Results: The study included 146 participants, with 73 survivors of ALL and 73 healthy controls. According to height, survivors exhibited a significantly reduced mean height (129.5 ± 18.31 cm) compared to controls (136.2 ± 22.51 cm; t=1.974, P=0.050). The majority of patients had normal TSH levels with elevated TSH observed in 7.7% of cases indicating subclinical hypothyroidism. Elevated TSH was more prevalent in the short stature group (33.3%) compared to the overweight and obese group (7.4%), 89.7% of patients had normal glucose level, while 10.3% were classified as prediabetic, who were overweight/obese group. Both groups demonstrated normal ACTH and cortisol levels Conclusion: Endocrine disorders are very common among ALL survivors and need close monitoring and prompt treatment if detected early.