Purpose: To prospectively evaluate pediatric patients with localized primary brain tumors for evidence of endocrinopathy before radiotherapy (RT).
Methods and materials: Seventy-five pediatric patients were evaluated with the arginine tolerance test and L-dopa test for growth hormone secretory capacity and activity; thyroid-stimulating hormone surge and thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test for the hypothalamic-thyroid axis; the 1-microg adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and metyrapone test for ACTH reserve; and, depending on age, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test to determine gonadotropin response. The study included 38 male and 37 female patients, age 1-21 years with ependymoma (n = 35), World Health Organization (WHO) Grade I-II astrocytoma (n = 18), WHO Grade III-IV astrocytoma (n = 10), craniopharyngioma (n = 7), optic pathway tumor (n = 4), and germinoma (n = 1). Seven patients receiving dexamethasone at the time of the evaluation were excluded from the final analysis.
Results: Of 68 assessable patient, 45 (66%) had evidence of endocrinopathy before RT, including 15 of 32 patients (47%) with posterior fossa tumors. Of the 45 patients, 38% had growth hormone deficiency, 43% had thyroid-stimulating hormone secretion abnormality, 22% had an abnormality in ACTH reserve, and 13% had an abnormality in age-dependent gonadotropin secretion.
Conclusion: The incidence of pre-RT endocrinopathy in pediatric brain tumor patients is high, including patients with tumors not adjacent to the hypothalamic-pituitary unit. These data suggest an overestimation in the incidence of radiation-induced endocrinopathy. Baseline endocrine function should be determined for brain tumor patients before therapy. The potential for radiation-induced endocrinopathy alone cannot be used as an argument for alternatives to RT for most patients. Pre-RT endocrinopathy may be an early indicator of central nervous system damage that will influence the functional outcome unrelated to RT.