This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, R. J. Articles by Moshang, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, R. J. Articles by Moshang, T., Jr. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH

Adult Heights Attained by Children with Hypothalamic/Chiasmatic Glioma Treated with Growth Hormone

Divisions of Endocrinology (R.J.K., D.S., S.H., T.M.) and Neurooncology (A.J.), Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Thomas Moshang, Jr., Division of Endocrinology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th and Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104. E-mail: moshang{at}email.chop.edu.

Hypothalamic/chiasmatic gliomas (H/CG) in children are commonly accompanied by endocrine dysfunction due to mass effects of the tumor itself or as a consequence of tumor therapy, with GH deficiency (GHD) being the most common disorder. We report the height outcomes of GH-treated H/CG patients with GHD. We reviewed the records of 14 GHD patients with H/CG who were treated with human GH. A comparison group of non-GH-treated H/CG patients was also identified. Heights were expressed as SD scores (SDS). For GH-treated patients, the mean initial height was –0.7 ± 0.3 (±SE). Their mean final height was –0.3 ± 0.3. The mean change in height SDS for the GH-treated group was +0.4. The mean initial and final height SDS for the non-GHD patients were 0.6 (SE = 0.4) and 0.0 (SE = 0.4), respectively. The mean change in height SDS was –0.6. The GHD patients had significantly lower initial height SDS compared with the non-GHD patients (P = 0.01) and had a significantly greater change in their height SDS (P = 0.04). GH treatment for H/CG patients restores much of their growth potential and improves adult height to within normal limits.