Contribution of growth hormone deficiency to the growth failure that follows bone marrow transplantation.

Conditioning for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) by total body irradiation frequently causes growth failure. The contribution of growth hormone (GH) deficiency to this failure was assessed in 38 patients given three types of body irradiation: group 1 (n=18) was given 12 Gy total body irradiation as six fractions, group 2 (n=14) 10 Gy (one dose) total body irradiation, and group 3 (n=6) 6 Gy (one dose) thoracoabdominal irradiation, which did not involve the hypothalamic-pituitary area. At the first evaluation, 2.9±0.2 (SE) years after BMT, the values for the plasma insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and its GH-dependent binding protein (IGFBP-3) were similar in groups 1 and 2 but significantly greater in group 3 ( p p p