Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 in the Early Postoperative Assessment of Acromegaly

Assessment of surgical outcome in acromegaly is typically recommended at 3 to 6 months following surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine if insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations at 6 weeks were equally predictive of surgical outcomes compared with IGF-1 concentrations at 3 to 6 months postoperatively applying newer IGF-1 assays.

Retrospective review of patients with newly diagnosed acromegaly who had surgery between 2013 and 2020 and had postoperative IGF-1 measured by 6 weeks and 3 to 6 months.

At 6 weeks, 20 (35%) of the total 57 had normal IGF-1 and became abnormal in 1 at 3 to 6 months, whereas 37 (65%) of 57 had abnormal IGF-1 concentrations at 6 weeks, which normalized in 1 patient by 3 to 6 months. In patients who changed clinical status, IGF-1 at 6 weeks was within ±0.1-fold of normal. Although a difference was seen between median IGF-1 concentrations (286 vs 267 ng/mL, P = .009) at 6 weeks and 3 to 6 months, the mean reduction was small (-19.9 ng/mL).

Compared with 3 to 6 months, use of IGF-1 at 6 weeks was associated with a change in clinical status in 3.5% of patients. Therefore, in most patients, IGF-1 at 6 weeks can be used to assess clinical outcome via newer assays.