Acute myeloid leukemia and colon carcinoma during the course of acromegaly

Abstract

We describe the case of a 70-year-old male with acromegaly who developed colon carcinoma and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) during the course of acromegaly. MDS progressed to acute myeloid leukemia, but was refractory to chemotherapy. Acromegaly is a rare disorder caused by excessive amounts of growth hormone (GH) primarily secreted by pituitary adenomas. Patients with acromegaly are more prone to develop various malignancies, but there are few reports of hematological malignancies in such patients. In the present case, excessive endogenous GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels may have altered cell proliferation and thereby affected the oncogenesis and chemosensitivity of both malignancies.