BRAIN-TUMOR RECURRENCE IN CHILDREN TREATED WITH GROWTH-HORMONE - THE NATIONAL COOPERATIVE GROWTH STUDY EXPERIENCE

As of October 1993 the National Cooperative Growth Study included 1262 children with brain tumor who were treated with growth hormone. The t ype of brain tumor was specified in 947 (75%) of these children. The m ost common types were glioma, medulloblastoma, and craniopharyngioma, accounting for 91.3% of all those for which the type was specified, Br ain tumor recurred in 83 (6.6%) of the 1262 children over a total of 6 115 patient-years at risk, The frequencies of tumor recurrence in chil dren with low-grade glioma (18.1%), medulloblastoma (7.2%), and cranio pharyngioma (6.4%) are lower than those in published reports of tumor recurrence in the general pediatric population with the same types of tumors, The analysis cannot conclusively show that no increased risk o f tumor recurrence exists, however, because of the potential incomplet eness of data reporting in the National Cooperative Growth Study, Neve rtheless the findings are reassuring that children with the more commo n types of brain tumor who are treated with growth hormone do not seem to be at excessive risk for tumor recurrence.