Growth of children after treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

ABSTRACT

The pattern of growth of fifty children with Acute Lymphoblastic with mean age of 5.6 year at the time of diagnosis were assessed. All patients were subjected to combination chemotherapy and cranial irradiation according to UKAL X protocol over 2.5-3 years. Data were obtained from patients reports and during their follow up at the Al-Mansoor Teaching Hospital for children, Saddam Medical city, Baghdad. Height, head circumference, puberty and skeletal Maturity were the four indices used for growth assessment. It was found that there was significant deceleration in growth during and at time of completion of therapy, there was no significant period of catch up growth after the completion of therapy. There was a second period of deceleration of growth started few years after completion of therapy and this period might be coincided with early or premature puberty