Assessment of the long-term effects of primary radiation. Therapy for brain tumors in children

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Abstract
One‐hundred‐twelve children with primary brain tumors received definitive radiotherapy between the years 1958–1979. Sixty‐nine patients were alive at intervals of 1–21 years. Thirty‐eight patients underwent neurologic and endocrine evaluation, psychologic and intelligence testing, and assessment for second malignancy post‐treatment. A second intracranial malignancy developed in one child, for an incidence of 1.6%. Performance status was good to excellent in 89% of the patients studied. Seventeen percent of the group were mentally retarded. Behavioral disorders were identified in 39% of the patients, 59% of the mothers, and 43% of the fathers. Of the 23 patients with nonparasellar tumors, six were found to have growth hormone deficiency, including two patients with panhypopituitarism. Disability was related to age under 3 years at the time of treatment and tumor extension to the hypothalamus.