Long-Term Safety of Growth Hormone Deficiency Treatment in Cancer and Sellar Tumors Adult Survivors: Is There a Role of GH Therapy on the Neoplastic Risk?

Carolina Di Somma; Elisabetta Scarano; Rossana Arianna; Fiammetta Romano; Mariarosaria Lavorgna; Domenico Serpico; Annamaria Colao

doi:10.3390/jcm12020662

Long-Term Safety of Growth Hormone Deficiency Treatment in Cancer and Sellar Tumors Adult Survivors: Is There a Role of GH Therapy on the Neoplastic Risk?

J Clin Med. 2023 Jan 13;12(2):662. doi: 10.3390/jcm12020662.

Authors

Carolina Di Somma^{1

2}, Elisabetta Scarano¹, Rossana Arianna¹, Fiammetta Romano¹, Mariarosaria Lavorgna¹, Domenico Serpico¹, Annamaria Colao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Endocrinology, Diabetes and Andrology Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy.
² UNESCO Chair "Education for Health and Sustainable Development", University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy.

Abstract

Experimental studies support the hypothesis that GH/IGF-1 status may influence neoplastic tissue growth. Epidemiological studies suggest a link between GH/IGF-1 status and cancer risk. However, several studies regarding GH replacement safety in childhood cancer survivors do not show a prevalence excess of de novo cancers, and several reports on children and adults treated with GH have not shown an increase in observed cancer risk in these patients. The aim of this review is to provide an at-a-glance overview and the state of the art of long-term effects of GH replacement on neoplastic risk in adults with growth hormone deficiency who have survived cancer and sellar tumors.

Keywords: GH treatment; GHD; cancer risk.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.