Objective: To investigate the effect of incretion hormones on growth pituitary adenoma ectomy patients and evaluate its long-term therapeutic efficacy.
Methods: A total of 38 growth pituitary adenoma patients were treated by adenoma ectomy between 2002 to 2009 at our hospital. The dynamic concentrations of serum prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), cortisone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and thyroid function (T3, T4 & thyroid-stimulating hormone) were monitored before and after microsurgery. All cases had been followed up for over one year to evaluate the long-term therapeutic efficacy.
Results: The level of GH decreased markedly within one week after ectomy [(2.49 ± 0.22) µg/L vs (9.24 ± 0.56) µg/L, P < 0.05] and remained stable afterwards. Among 22 cases of GH-secreting pituitary adenoma with total removal, the post-operative level of GH dropped below 2.5 µg/L in 11 cases but the other 11 cases did not. And 3 cases were recurrent within 3 years post-operation.
Conclusions: The GH level at Week 1 post-operation is one of the major indicators for evaluating the efficacy of surgery. And the level of GH dropping below 2.5 µg/L at Week 1 post-operation may be used as a standard for clinical cure.