Abstract
BackgroundAcromegaly is highly associated with thyroid disorders. However, the clinical characteristics of thyroid nodules in individuals with acromegaly who present with thyroid diseases have not been completely elucidated.MethodsOverall, 134 consecutive participants with growth hormone (GH)-secreting adenoma (n = 67) and non-functioning (NF) pituitary adenoma (n = 67) were recruited from the outpatient and inpatient patient department of The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University from August 2015 to August 2017. Thyroid ultrasonography was performed using an ultrasound system. The cytopathological results of fine-needle aspiration biopsy were analyzed by a pathologist according to the Bethesda system. Twenty-one patients with GH-secreting adenoma and thyroid disease underwent transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection and were followed up for 1 year.ResultsThe prevalence of thyroid disease increased in the GH-secreting adenoma group compared with that in the NF pituitary adenoma group. The number of hypoechoic, isoechogenic, heterogeneous, and vascular thyroid nodules increased in patients with GH-secreting adenoma plus thyroid disease compared with that in patients with NF pituitary adenoma plus thyroid disease. Finally, we found significant decreases in the morphology of solid nodules and significant increases in the morphology of cystic nodules after surgery compared with those before surgery in the cured group. Moreover, the numbers of heterogeneous and vascular thyroid nodules decreased significantly after surgery compared with those before surgery in the cured group. However, the characteristics of the thyroid nodules did not change after surgery compared with those before surgery in the non-cured group.ConclusionsThe numbers of hypoechoic, isoechoic, heterogeneous, and vascular thyroid nodules increased in patients with GH-secreting adenomas. In these patients, surgery resulted in significant changes from solid to cystic nodules and also reduced the numbers of heterogeneous and vascular thyroid nodules.
Highlights
Pituitary adenoma is a chronic endocrine disease that is characterized by the excessive secretion of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which results in various physiological abnormities [1, 2]
The numbers of hypoechoic, isoechogenic, heterogeneous, and vascular thyroid nodules increased in patients with GH-secreting adenoma plus thyroid disease compared with those in patients with NF pituitary adenoma plus thyroid disease
We found significantly increased TSH and FT3 levels and no significant change in FT4 level in the GH-secreting adenoma group compared with those in the NF pituitary adenoma group, suggesting that GH-secreting adenomas were correlated with thyroid dysfunction
Summary
Is highly associated with thyroid disorders. the clinical characteristics of thyroid nodules in individuals with acromegaly who present with thyroid diseases have not been completely elucidated. Increasing evidence has shown that many individuals with acromegaly present with various thyroid abnormities [3,4,5]. Gasperi et al reported that 202 (78.3%) of 258 patients with acromegaly and 28 (10.8%) of 258 patients with non-functioning prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas were diagnosed with thyroid disorders [7]. The risk of thyroid cancer is high in patients with acromegaly [8, 9]. The results of these studies indicate that the thyroid is the most frequently affected organ in patients with acromegaly; Xu et al BMC Endocrine Disorders (2019) 19:94 the correlation between acromegaly and thyroid disorders has become a topic of interest
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