Hypothalamic-Pituitary Dysfunction after Radiation for Brain Tumors

Children and adults with brain tumors who are treated with cranial radiation may subsequently have deficits in neuroendocrine function 1 – 13 . Although deficiency of growth hormone is common, hypothyroidism and gonadal disturbances are seldom reported and are presumed to occur only after particularly high doses of radiation 14 – 18 . This underestimation of the threshold doses of radiation capable of damaging the hypothalamic-pituitary axis results from the lack of dose-related studies of patients evaluated at intervals sufficiently long for the sequelae of radiation to become evident. With respect to the secretion of growth hormone, 65 percent of children with acute lymphoblastic . . .