Treatment of acromegaly

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) hypersecretion leads to acromegaly which is associated with several co-morbidities and increased mortality. Despite of the typical clinical features and modern diagnostic tools, it often takes years from the onset of the disease until the diagnosis. The aims of the treatment are to reduce or control the tumor growth, inhibit the GH hypersecretion, normalize the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels, treat the co-morbidities and therefore reduce mortality. There are three approaches for therapy: surgery, medical management (dopamine agonist, somatostatin analogues and GH receptor antagonist), and radiotherapy. Efficient therapy of the disease is based on the appropriate multidisciplinary team management.