ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Brief Summary: This cross-sectional study aimed to define if childhood cancer was related to delayed achievement of psychosocial milestones in later life.

Data of 252 male childhood cancer survivors (CCS) diagnosed with haematological or solid tumours between 1964 and 2000, with 6-42 years of survival, were collected and compared with 5 matched controls for each patient. CCS moved away from their parental home as frequently as population controls but were less likely to marry or live in a registered relationship, especially when they had been diagnosed with cancer at less than 4 years of age. CCS were less likely to sire a child and more likely to adopt. Lower probability of paternity was associated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, testicular radiation dose >6 Gy, laboratory signs of testicular dysfunction (FSH >15 IU/L, LH >15 IU/L, testosterone <2 ng/mL (5 nmol/L), need for induced puberty, testicular volume <12 mL at the end of puberty, and azoospermia in young adulthood.

This study emphasizes the need of monitoring pubertal development in male CCS because clinical and laboratory signs of testicular failure during adolescence potentially impact the achievement of psychosocial milestones and probability of paternity in adulthood.