Prevalence of Neoplasms in Patients with Acromegaly-A Single-Center Polish Study

Background/Objectives: Neoplasms are one of the three most common causes of death in patients with acromegaly. Our study aimed to assess the incidence of benign and malignant neoplasms among patients with acromegaly and the associations between this prevalence and the disease activity, the time of acromegaly diagnosis, and the time of its first symptoms. The correlation between neoplasm occurrence and pituitary somatotropic axis hormone levels was also studied, and the prevalence of different types of neoplasms was compared between the patients with acromegaly and the Polish population. Methods: A retrospective study included a statistical analysis of the medical documentation of 230 patients with acromegaly diagnosed and treated in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Isotope Therapy in Wrocław (Poland) between 1976 and 2023. Results: We observed 171 cases of neoplasms (144 benign and 27 malignant). All types of neoplasms and benign tumors were diagnosed more frequently, in both the short and long term, after a diagnosis of acromegaly, but, after a long time, only malignant neoplasms were more frequently diagnosed. In the cases of controlled acromegaly, all types of neoplasms and benign neoplasms were more common than in cases of cured acromegaly. The incidence of neoplasms was higher, regardless of type, in patients with active acromegaly compared to the cured disease. Malignant neoplasms of the thyroid, renal, and stomach type were more common among our subjects compared to the Polish population. Conclusions: This study confirms the association between acromegaly, as well as its activity level and the time from its diagnosis, and the prevalence of neoplasms.