Nuchal Skinfold Thickness in Pediatric Brain Tumor Patients.

Junxiang Peng,Hermann L Müller,Brigitte Bison,Maria Eveslage,Carsten Friedrich,Svenja Boekhoff,Panjarat Sowithayasakul

doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.772856

Abstract

BackgroundSevere obesity and tumor relapse/progression have impact on long-term prognosis in pediatric brain tumor patients.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, we analyzed nuchal skinfold thickness (NST) on magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) follow-up monitoring as a parameter for assessment of nuchal adipose tissue in 177 brain tumor patients (40 World Health Organization (WHO) grade 1–2 brain tumor; 31 grade 3–4 brain tumor; 106 craniopharyngioma), and 53 healthy controls. Furthermore, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio, caliper-measured skinfold thickness, and blood pressure were analyzed for association with NST.ResultsCraniopharyngioma patients showed higher NST, BMI, waist-to-height ratio, and caliper-measured skinfold thickness when compared to other brain tumors and healthy controls. WHO grade 1–2 brain tumor patients were observed with higher BMI, waist circumference and triceps caliper-measured skinfold thickness when compared to WHO grade 3–4 brain tumor patients. NST correlated with BMI, waist-to-height ratio, and caliper-measured skinfold thickness. NST, BMI and waist-to-height ratio were associated with increased blood pressure. In craniopharyngioma patients with hypothalamic involvement/lesion or gross-total resection, rate and degree of obesity were increased.ConclusionsNST could serve as a novel useful marker for regional nuchal adipose tissue. NST is highly associated with body mass and waist-to-height ratio, and easily measurable in routine MRI monitoring of brain tumor patients.

Highlights

Recent reports suggest that survivors of pediatric brain tumor are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease [1,2,3,4]
One hundred and six (60 female/46 male) of 698 childhood-onset craniopharyngioma patients (344 female/354 male) recruited in the German Childhood-onset Craniopharyngioma Registry with longitudinal follow-up in the prospective trials KRANIOPHARYNGEOM 2000 and KRANIOPHARYNGEOM 2007 were included in our study. 592 craniopharyngioma patients were excluded because one or more of the following inclusion criteria were not fulfilled: sagittal MRI of sufficient technical quality for assessment of nuchal skinfold thickness (NST), and height and weight measured within three months before or after MRI
Childhood-onset craniopharyngioma patients were older at the time of study and presented with higher body mass index (BMI) study (years) BMI at study (SDS), NST, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and caliper-measured skinfold thickness at the time of study when compared with healthy controls and patients with a brain tumor of different histology

Summary

Introduction

Recent reports suggest that survivors of pediatric brain tumor are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease [1,2,3,4]. As obesity is a well-known risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease in the general population, this might provide a potential explanation of the added cardiometabolic risk in survivors of pediatric brain tumor [5]. When obesity rates are analyzed based on body mass index (BMI), pediatric brain tumor patients are observed to have BMI levels similar to the general population, which is not likely to explain the observed increased risk of cardiovascular. Nuchal Skinfold Thickness disease in pediatric brain tumor survivors [6, 7]. Severe obesity and tumor relapse/progression have impact on long-term prognosis in pediatric brain tumor patients

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