Long-term effects on bone mineral density of different therapeutic schemes for acute lymphoblastic leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma during childhood.

Background: Little is known regarding long-term bone deficit in relationship with the modalities of cancer therapy among survivors of childhood malignancy.

Methods: Bone mineral density (BMD) was evaluated at lumbar spine (LS), total hip and femoral neck in 89 patients (44 men) more than 5 years after remission of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The patients had received chemotherapy (group I; n = 41), chemotherapy and cranial irradiation (group II; n = 32), or bone marrow transplantation (BMT) with total body irradiation (TBI) (group III; n = 16).