Aim: To evaluate the effect of bone marrow transplantation during childhood on gonadal function in postpubertal patients.
Methods: We studied 19 post-pubertal patients (13 males, 6 females) aged 13-20 years, 2-9 years after bone marrow transplantation for diverse diseases. Fifteen patients had received multi-agent cytotoxic treatment and 6 had received cranial irradiation prior to transplantation; eleven patients received total body irradiation. Gonadal function was assessed by typifying Tanner's stages of pubertal development and by measuring testicular volume in males (Prader's orchidometer). Serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone and 17-beta-estradiol were also measured.
Results: Twelve patients were found to have gonadal dysfunction of gonadal origin. Of these, three had not received total body irradiation.
Conclusions: The results obtained show that gonadal dysfunction is frequent in patients treated with bone marrow transplantation. This damage can be attributed to both chemo- and radiotherapy but a synergistic effect between these treatments could not be excluded. The prepubertal status of patients at the moment of transplantation was not a protective factor against chemo- or radiotherapy-induced gonadal damage in our series.