Renal side effects in children who have completed treatment for childhood cancers at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa

Abstract

Background: The causes of renal dysfunction in children treated for childhood cancers are multifactorial and clinical manifestations of dysfunction include hypertension, proteinuria and varying degrees of renal insufficiency. This study aimed to determine the different residual effects of cancer therapy on the renal system and factors associated with the residual effects in children treated for childhood cancers. Patients and Methods: The study was a descriptive cross sectional study that assessed 130 children, between the age of 1 and 18 years, who had completed treatment at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and were being followed up at the paediatric oncology clinic of the hospital. Results: After a median follow-up post treatment of 2 years, the various manifestations of renal dysfunction identified in the survivors included; decreased GFR, hypomagnesaemia, hypophosphataemia, proteinuria, haematuria and hypertension. In total, 34 survivors (26.15%) had at least one manifestation of renal dysfunction after completing treatment. The most prevalent manifestation of renal dysfunction detected was decreased GFR (17.69%). Hypomagnesaemia and hypophosphataemia were present in 8 (6.15%) and 6 (4.62%) of the survivors respectively. Patients who had renal dysfunction pre-treatment were three times more likely to have renal dysfunction post-treatment. Ifosfamide, Carboplatinum, and nephrectomy were significantly associated with a reduction in GFR Conclusion: A significant number of the survivors had a decreased GFR while some of them had hypomagnesaemia and hypophosphataemia. There was a strong association between pre-treatment and post-treatment renal dysfunction. These findings are very important in terms of decision making for individual patients with respect to selecting treatment modalities and dosages and also with respect to instituting nephro-protective measures to avoid further damage to the kidneys during and after treatment.