Predicting therapeutic response and degree of pituitary tumour shrinkage during treatment of acromegaly with octreotide LAR

Background/Aims: The efficacy of transsphenoidal surgery in the treatment of patients with acromegaly is largely dependent on tumour size. A reduction in pituitary tumour volume by medical therapy might therefore improve subsequent surgical cure rates. This study prospectively determined the effects of the depot somatostatin analogue octreotide LAR on pituitary tumour size, GH and IGF-I levels and clinical symptoms in a cohort of previously untreated patients with acromegaly. Methods: Six patients newly diagnosed with acromegaly ( mean age 53 years; range 42 - 76 years) received intramuscular octreotide LAR every 28 days for 6 months. The initial dose of LAR was 20 mg, but increased to 30 mg after the initial 3 injections if mean GH levels were >5 mU/l. Prior to commencing LAR therapy, each patient received 3 injections of subcutaneous octreotide ( 50, 100 and 200 mug) in a randomized order on separate days, and the serum GH response was measured. Pituitary tumour volume was calculated from MRI or computed tomography scans at baseline, then 3 and 6 months after initiation of treatment, and assessed by a 'blinded' radiologist in random order. At baseline, 4 patients had a macroadenoma and 2 patients had a microadenoma. For the latter, the whole gland volume was measured. Results: Serum GH levels decreased from 29.6 +/- 19.2 mU/l ( mean +/- SD) at baseline to 12.1 +/- 10.5 mU/l at 3 months and 10.4 +/- 9.3 mU/l at 6 months. Three patients achieved a mean serum GH level of < 5 mU/l. In these patients, the serum GH had declined to < 5 mU/l in response to a single 100 mug subcutaneous octreotide injection. Serum IGF-I levels decreased by a mean of 45 +/- 7.4%. Tumour volume decreased in all patients: mean baseline volume 2,175 mm(3) ( range 660 - 6,998) decreasing to 1,567 mm(3) (range 360 - 4,522) at 3 months ( p < 0.05) and 1,293 mm(3) ( range 280 - 4,104) at 6 months ( p < 0.002). The mean percentage decrease in size was 29% (range - 54 to + 4%) at 3 months ( p < 0.02) and 47% ( range 21 - 97%) at 6 months ( p < 0.002). There was no statistically significant correlation between GH response and tumour shrinkage. Conclusions: A single test dose of subcutaneous octreotide may be useful in predicting the subsequent efficacy of octreotide LAR. Octreotide LAR results in significant shrinkage of pituitary tumours of newly diagnosed patients with acromegaly. Whether its administration to such patients for 6 - 12 months can improve the efficacy of subsequent transsphenoidal surgery will require further study. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.