Diagnostics and treatment of acromegaly - updated recommendations of the Polish Society of Endocrinology

Abstract

Acromegaly is a rare disease caused by excessive production of growth hormone (GH), typically by a pituitary tumour. The diagnosis is usually delayed, and patients frequently develop various complications that cause premature mortality. In patients with hypertension, heart failure, diabetes, and arthropathies that are not age-specific, attention should be paid to signs of acromegaly. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) assay should be used as a screening test whenever acromegaly is suspected. Further diagnostic investigations and treatment should be carried out at specialist centres. First-line treatment involves selective excision of pituitary adenoma using transsphenoidal access. Patients with chances of cure with surgical removal of the pituitary tumour should be referred to centres that have experience in this type of procedure, following pharmacological preparation. Other patients, as well as patients after failed neurosurgical treatment, should first receive chronic treatment with first-generation somatostatin analogues. For second-line treatment, pasireotide, pegvisomant, cabergoline, or combinations thereof should be considered. In every case, acromegaly sequelae require life-long monitoring and active treatment. Current recommendations, being an updated version of the recommendations published in Endokrynologia Polska in 2014, which take into account the Polish situation, should prove useful in the management of patients with acromegaly.

Keywords: acromegaly; diagnostics; recommendations; treatment.