Risk alert after childhood cancer

LARGELY due to the exposure to radiation therapy, people who have survived cancer in their childhood may be at an increased risk of developing hormone disorders that may lead to thyroid disease, testicular dysfunction and diabetes, later, say experts.

To warn health care providers about these risks, the Endocrine Society, an international medical organisation, recently issued a “Clinical Practice Guideline”, which was published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

“Childhood cancer survivors have a high risk of developing endocrine disorders,” said Charles Sklar of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, chairperson of the writing committee that developed the guideline.

The endocrine system has eight major glands that make hormones which help control many important body functions including regulation of blood sugar.

Childhood cancer is relatively rare, and due to improvements in treatment and patient care, the current five-year survival rates exceed 80%.

However, these survivors also face a greater risk of developing sleep problems and daytime sleepiness as adults and hypertension, even decades after cancer treatment ends.

Endocrine disorders are especially prevalent among this population, often as a result of their previous treatments, particularly exposure to radiation therapy.

Radiation exposure to key endocrine organs, including hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid and gonads, places cancer survivors at the highest risk of developing an endocrine abnormality over time. – IANS