Catch-up growth and craniofacial dimensions following administration of the antineoplastic agent vincristine to young rats

Decreased linear growth is a common problem during childhood anticancer therapy. Although catch-up growth may occur, short stature is sometimes permanent. A macroscopic experimental study was performed to investigate the catch-up growth of body and craniofacial structures of growing rats subjected to the antineoplastic agent vincristine. A total of 150 Long-Evans/Turku strain rats were randomly divided into one of two treatment or control groups. A group of 10-d-old rats was given a single s.c. injection of 0.0375 mg/kg vincristine, while another treatment group of 30-d-old rats received three injections of 0.05 mg/kg vincristine. All rats were killed at the age of 100 d. Twelve different craniofacial dimensions. tibia and body length, and final weight were recorded. Female and male groups were analyzed separately. As an expression of catch-up growth, most of the body and craniofacial structures returned to the control level by 100 d of age. A clear sex-dependency was seen in the measurements which remained reduced so that females seemed to catch-up better than males. The tinting of the first injection was found to be important for the catch-up growth in the neurocranial area.