Influence of growth hormone therapy on the occurrence of a second neoplasm in survivors of childhood cancer

Abstract

This cohort and nested case–control study analyzed the impact of growth hormone (GH) treatment on the risk of second neoplasm (SN) in a French cohort of 2852 childhood cancer survivors (CCS) treated before 1986. In total, 126 (64.3%) survivors who received GH had been treated for a brain tumor, 22 (11.2%) for a retinoblastoma, 20 (10.2%) for a lymphoma and 28 (14.3%) for another type of solid tumor; 374 survivors developed a SN, including 40 who had received GH therapy. In multivariate analysis, GH treatment did not increase the risk of secondary non-meningioma brain tumors, secondary non-brain cancer, or meningioma. Slight non-significant increases in the risk of meningioma (1.6-fold) were observed after an exposure to GH of less than 4 years vs 2.3-fold after a longer exposure.