Suprasellar CNS germ cell tumors and endocrine sequelae: early growth hormone therapy as a contributor to height gain: a single institute analysis.

Hormone replacement therapy was significantly more common in patients with suprasellar tumors compared to non-suprasellar ICGCT patients.

• 18 patients aged 15 years or younger at ICGCT diagnosis were evaluated retrospectively from January 2010 to December 2016 at University of Tsukuba Hospital
• 11 patients had tumors in the suprasellar region and 7 had tumors in other parts of the brain (non-suprasellar ICGCT)
• The number of cases receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were significantly higher in the suprasellar tumor group (p < 0.001)

Longer time to diagnosis from onset was associated with a greater number of hormones being replaced at the last visit.

• Correlation coefficient between time to diagnosis (TTD) and number of hormones being replaced at last visit was 0.77
• The association was statistically significant (p < 0.001)
• This relationship was observed across the full patient cohort of 18 patients

All patients who received appropriate growth hormone therapy increased in height without tumor relapse.

• This finding applied to all patients in the cohort who received appropriate growth hormone therapy
• No tumor relapses were observed in association with growth hormone therapy administration
• All but 2 patients in the overall cohort were alive without disease at the time of analysis

Proton beam therapy (PBT) was equivalent to photon radiotherapy in terms of key oncologic and quality of life outcomes.

• 10 patients were treated with proton beam therapy only in combination with chemotherapy
• PBT was equivalent to photon RT in terms of recurrence, survival, number of hormones being replaced, and quality of life
• No statistically significant differences between radiation modalities were identified for these outcomes

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy parameters were not associated with hormone replacement therapy requirements in ICGCT survivors.

• Neither radiotherapy modality nor chemotherapy was associated with HRT in survivors of ICGCTs
• This suggests that treatment modality does not drive endocrine late effects in this population
• The primary factors associated with HRT need were tumor location (suprasellar) and longer time to diagnosis