[The endocrinological aspects of the therapy of testicular involvement in children with acute leukemias].

Orchidectomy or testicular irradiation with 24 to 30 Gy are recommended for testicular involvement in boys with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. But, recommended radiation doses for the only occultly involved other testis differ, i.e. they range from 12 to 24 Gy. Low dose (12 or 15 Gy) "preventive" testicular irradiation was delivered to 5 of 14 patients; only one of these 5 experienced a further testicular relapse. According to our observation, in contrast to higher doses, the dose limitation allows spontaneous pubertal development including normal testosterone production and normal development of the masculine stature.