Endokrine og vaekstmaessige senfølger efter cancerbehandling af børn

Growth and endocrinological disturbances are possible late side-effects of cancer treatment in childhood. These side-effects can be treated, thus their discovery is important. The side-effects particularly appear in the years following treatment with irradiation and/or alkylating chemotherapy. After irradiation of the brain or the neck the function of the thyroid and the parathyroid glands should be tested every third month the first year, and later on annually. Two years after the end of treatment, the patient should be examined for growth hormone deficiency. This examination should be carried out annually. One should be alert to symptoms of pubertas praecox the years prior to puberty. At the age when puberty is expected and thereafter one should look for signs of secondary hypogonadism. Primary hypogonadism may follow radiotherapy below the diaphragm and/or treatment with alkylating chemotherapeutics; further, reduced fertility in men and early menopause in women may follow these treatments. The bone structure of the face and the teeth may be damaged by radiation and chemotherapy, so therefore yearly examination by a dentist with specialty in this subject is recommended. Surgery in order to improve function may be a possibility.