Bone mineral density is compromised in very long-term survivors of irradiated childhood brain tumor

Abstract

Introduction: The increase in the number of childhood brain tumor survivors warrants detailed research to increase our knowledge regarding the possible physical and psychosocial adverse outcomes of tumor and tumor therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current bone health by measuring the bone mineral density (BMD) in irradiated, adult long-term survivors of childhood brain tumors. Material and methods: We studied a national cohort of 74 adult survivors of childhood brain tumors treated with irradiation in Finland between 1970 and 2008. Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed for the femoral necks, total hips, and lumbar spine. Laboratory tests were conducted for evaluating the pituitary, thyroid, and gonadal functions. The participants were interviewed, examined clinically, and the disease and treatment related data were retrieved from the patient files. Results: One fourth of the patients (23.6%) had sex- and age-normalized z-scores below the expected range for age (z-score ≤ −2.0). Mean BMD scores were decreased in all the DXA measurement sites. Male sex was associated with low BMD (p