ESPE Abstracts

Objective: Growth hormone deficiency (GH) is one of the most common complications in postoperative survivors of craniopharyngioma (CP), which is closely related to short stature. recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is often used to correct short stature in survivors after CP in children, but its safety is still controversial on the one hand, and its effect on glucose and lipid metabolism is unclear on the other hand. The purpose of this study is to monitor the recurrence and lipid metabolism indexes of children survivors after CP surgery for a long time, explore the long-term effects of rhGH on glucose and lipid metabolism, and further provide support for the application of rhGH in survivors after CP surgery.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the recurrence, rhGH use and lipid metabolism indexes (including total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein cholesterol) of 44 children with CP after surgical treatment from January 2006 to February 2024. In order to clarify the safety of rhRH and the effect of rhRH on glucose and lipid metabolism, this study compared the recurrence and lipid metabolism indexes of the rhGH use group and the non-rHRH group, and analyzed the correlation between the duration of rhGH use and the corresponding indexes.

Results: The mean follow-up duration was 7.45±4.64 years. The mean age at operation was 8.57±4.25 years, and the mean age at last follow-up was 16.02±5.36 years. Up to the last follow-up date, the 5-year recurrence rate was 27.3% (12/44). Compared with the non-rhGH group, there was no significant change in the recurrence rate, BMI and triglyceride levels were significantly decreased, and high-density lipoprotein was significantly increased in the rhGH use group. In the RHRH-using group, the duration of rhGH treatment was inversely associated with total cholesterol levels and LDL levels.

Conclusion: This study found that the application of rhGH in children survivors after CP does not increase the recurrence rate, and has a therapeutic effect on obesity and hyperlipidemia, suggesting that the application of rhGH plays an important role in improving the quality of life of survivors after CP.