Outcome of multimodal therapy in operated acromegalic patients, a study in 115 patients

Given the new therapeutic options in acromegaly, it seemed important to evaluate the outcome of operated acromegalic patients today.

To analyse the characteristics and short- and long-term surgical outcome of patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery for a growth hormone (GH)-secreting adenoma in our centre and to determine predictive factors of remission.

This retrospective 10-year study included 115 newly diagnosed acromegalic patients operated on at Timone University Hospital, Marseille, France, between 1997 and 2007.

Initial and long-term outcomes were evaluated using stringent and current remission criteria, associating GH nadir after oral glucose tolerance test <0·4 μg/l and normal insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) at 3 months, and a normal IGF-1 at the end of follow-up (52·4 ± 36·8 months, median 41 months, range 6·7-135·4 months, n = 99).

At the end of follow-up, 90·9% of patients had controlled disease. Overall, 49·5% of patients were in long-term remission after surgery alone, and only 2·0% of patients experienced recurrent disease. Multivariate predictors of 3-month remission included mean GH at diagnosis (P = 0·033), tumour invasion (P = 0·013) and surgeon report of incomplete or uncertain macroscopic resection (P = 0·003 and P = 0·047, respectively). Multivariate predictors at diagnosis of long-term remission included mean GH level (P = 0·048), adenoma size (P = 0·007) and absence of pituitary deficit (P = 0·026).

In long-term follow-up after surgery of acromegaly, half of the patients achieved remission after surgery alone and more than 90% had their disease controlled. With stringent 3-month remission criteria, recurrence was rare.