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Body composition alterations after treatment for CNS tumors
Source: Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: April 14, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
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Among brain tumor survivors treated with higher doses of cranial radiation therapy, the highest risk of developing obesity has been observed in females treated at a younger age.[144]
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Survivors of craniopharyngioma have a substantially increased risk of developing extreme obesity because of the tumor location and the hypothalamic damage resulting from surgical resection.[145-148]
A cohort of 661 childhood survivors of brain tumors (mean follow-up time, 7.3 years) was evaluated for weight gain associated with hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction. This cohort excluded survivors who had craniopharyngiomas or pituitary tumors.[149]
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Among survivors between the ages of 4 and 20 years at follow-up, 20.3% were classified as overweight and 8.5% had obesity, compared with 10.5% and 2.7%, respectively, in the general Dutch population of comparable age.
Hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction was more prevalent in survivors who are overweight or have obesity than in survivors of normal weight.
BMI SDS at diagnosis, diagnosis of low-grade glioma, and history of diabetes insipidus and central precocious puberty were associated with weight gain, being overweight, or having obesity.
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