[Treatment of acromegaly. Results in 56 patients]

Med Clin (Barc). 1990 Jan 27;94(3):85-7.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

The results of the treatment of acromegaly in 56 patients have been reviewed. Transsphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy (TPA) represented the most effective therapy, as it resulted in a cure rate of 64.7%, with 8.8% of complications and 14.7% of endocrine insufficiencies secondary to surgery. When radiotherapy was administered after surgery (when the latter had not been curative), the overall rate of cure increased to 73.5%. By contrast, the patients treated only with radiotherapy had a markedly lower cure rate (44.4%), with a higher rate of endocrine insufficiency (55%). The occurrence of extrasellar extension shown in preoperative pituitary computed tomography did not correlate with a worse postoperative cure rate; by contrast, the invasive character of the adenoma represented a reduction in the postoperative cure rate. It was concluded that TPA is the treatment of choice in acromegaly, independently of the tumor size.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acromegaly / etiology
  • Acromegaly / therapy*
  • Adenoma / complications
  • Adenoma / therapy*
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pituitary Neoplasms / complications
  • Pituitary Neoplasms / therapy*