Tumour recurrence and enlargement in patients with craniopharyngioma with and without GH replacement therapy during more than 10 years of follow-up.

• Most patients who have been treated for craniopharyngioma (CP) are GH deficient (GHD). GH replacement therapy (GHRT) may stimulate tumour regrowth; and one of the concerns with long-term GHRT is the risk of tumour progression. Therefore, the objective was to study tumour progression in CP patients on long-term GHRT.Case-control study.The criteria for inclusion of cases were: i) GHD caused by CP; ii) GHRT >3 years; and iii) regular imaging. This resulted in 56 patients (mean age at diagnosis 25±16 years) with a mean duration of GHRT of 13.6±5.0 years. As controls, 70 CP patients who had not received GHRT were sampled with regard to follow-up, gender, age at diagnosis and initial radiation therapy (RT).The 10-year tumour progression-free survival rate (PFSR) for the entire population was 72%. There was an association (hazard ratio, P value) between PFSR and initial RT (0.13, 0.001) and residual tumour (3.2, 0.001). The 10-year PFSR was 88% for the GHRT group and 57% for the control group. Substitution with GHRT resulted in the following associations to PFSR: GHRT (0.57, 0.17), initial RT (0.16, <0.001), residual tumour (2.6, <0.01) and gender (0.57, 0.10). Adjusted for these factors, the 10-year PFSR was 85% for the GHRT group and 65% for the control group.In patients with CP, the most important prognostic factors for the PFSR were initial RT and residual tumour after initial treatment. Long-term GHRT did not affect the PFSR in patients with CP.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Endokrinologi och diabetes (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Endocrinology and Diabetes (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adolescent

Adult

Case-Control Studies

Child

Craniopharyngioma

chemically induced

pathology

Disease Progression

Female

Follow-Up Studies

Hormone Replacement Therapy

adverse effects

Human Growth Hormone

administration & dosage

adverse effects

deficiency

Humans

Kaplan-Meier Estimate

Male

Middle Aged

Neoplasm Recurrence

Local

chemically induced

Neoplasm

Residual

pathology

Pituitary Neoplasms

chemically induced

pathology

Proportional Hazards Models

Prospective Studies

Young Adult

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)