Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy of childhood. The cure rate is now about 80% but an increased risk for obesity has been described among survivors. Even so there are no studies reporting this risk in developing countries especially in countries in which the problem of dietary deficiency is rapidly shifting to one of dietary excess. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of excessive weight in child and teenage survivors of ALL. A retrospective cohort study was carried out of 101 children and 19 adolescents diagnosed and treated for ALL between 1998 and 2002 in the Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP). The body mass index (BMI) was calculated at the time of diagnosis, at the end of therapy and two years later. The mean age at diagnosis was 4.6 (± 2.1) years in children and 12.2 (± 1.9) years in adolescents. The duration of treatment was 2.6 (± 1.0) years. The BMI changed from 16.1 (± 2.3) to 19.1 (± 3.5) after treatment; p<0.001. Among the survivors 17/120 (14.2%) were overweight at the time of diagnosis and 55/120 (45.8%) after treatment (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the percentage of overweight individuals and BMI between the end of treatment and two years later: 55/120 (45.8%) vs. 46/120 (38.3%) (p=0.295) and BMI 19.1 (± 3.5) vs. 19.4 (± 3.5) (p=0.178). Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia increases the risk of excessive weight in child and adolescent survivors.
Leukemia; overweight; obesity; survivors
