Influence of irradiation and chemotherapy on the ovaries of children with abdominal tumours.

The ovaries of children with abdominal tumours were studied in 12 autopsy specimens. Ovaries from 25 children who died in accidents or after a short acute disease served as controls. All ovaries from normal children showed follicle growth, but follicle development was inhibited in 67% of the children with abdominal tumours. The effect of treatment with cytotoxic drugs and/or abdominal irradiation on ovarian morphology was investigated. Normal ovaries were found only in children who had received no chemotherapy or a short course. All patients who had been treated with radiation therapy either alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy had severely damaged ovaries: follicle growth was inhibited in all cases, and the number of small non-growing follicles was markedly reduced in most. It is argued that abdominal irradiation might impair follicle development as well as destroy small follicles.