Mostoufi-Moab Laboratory for Endocrine Late Effects after Childhood Cancer Therapy

Long-term survival after childhood cancer now exceeds 80%; however, childhood cancer survivors are at increased risk of chronic, and at times, life-threatening health conditions. Endocrine disorders comprise the most common morbidity in survivors of childhood cancer. The goal of the Mostoufi-Moab Lab for Endocrine Late Effects after Childhood Cancer Therapy (ELECT) is to pursue a mechanistic understanding of metabolic and endocrine disorders that occur due to cancer therapy.

ELECT is focused on the impact of cancer on the underlying mechanisms of skeletal maturation, growth, and global metabolism after childhood cancer therapy. Childhood cancer survivors have numerous risk factors for abnormal growth, impaired bone accrual, muscle deficits, and excess adiposity. Furthermore, childhood cancer survivors treated with radiation demonstrate a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease in early adulthood compared to survivors treated only with chemotherapy. This is important because one-in-eight childhood cancer survivors diagnosed with diabetes and cardiovascular disease will experience premature death compared to survivors without these conditions. ELECT has filled scientific gaps by conducting comprehensive studies of musculoskeletal deficits, growth disorders, and sarcopenic obesity in long-term survivors of cancer after radiation.

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