Diagnosis and management of acromegaly in 2012

Abstract

Acromegaly is an insidious disease that, in most cases, is a result of a pituitary adenoma that hypersecretes growth hormone (GH). The goals of therapy are to control excess GH secretion and tumour growth, and to limit, if not reverse, the long-term medical consequences and risk of premature mortality associated with acromegaly. Surgery is the preferred primary therapeutic option because it can lead to rapid reductions in GH levels and prevent mass effects from local tumor growth. Medical therapy, including somatostatin analogues, dopamine agonists, and the GH receptor antagonist pegvisomant, is used most often in an adjuvant, secondary role for patients in whom surgery has been unsuccessful. Radiation therapy is most commonly recommended in the setting of failed surgery and lack of adequate control with medical therapy. A role of primary medical therapy for de novo patients has been proposed, particularly with somatostatin analogues. Using a multimodality approach, successful management of the disease and associated consequences should be achieved in the majority of subjects. © TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2012.