The use of a GH receptor antagonist in patients with acromegaly resistant to somatostatin analogs

J Endocrinol Invest. 2003;26(10 Suppl):53-6.

Abstract

Pegvisomant, a GH receptor antagonist, is a new pharmaceutical approach to acromegaly. It enables IGF-I levels to return in the age- and sex-reference range in approximately 90% of patients. This new approach is particularly beneficial in those patients who do not experience control of hormone hypersecretion after surgery and/or medical treatment with somatostatin analogs. In our preliminary experience, out of 16 patients unsuccessfully operated on by transsphenoidal surgery and resistant to 40-mg octreotide-LAR or 120-mg lanreotide for at least 6 months, 13 normalized their IGF-I levels within 6 months from treatment beginning. Normalization of IGF-I levels was accompanied by a significant decrease of ring size. We did not observe any increase of tumor remnant in this short period of treatment. In two cases we observed a significant increase of liver transaminases levels. In conclusion, more than 80% of patients with acromegaly unsuccessfully treated by surgery or currently available somatostatin analogs can achieve normal IGF-I levels after short-term treatment with pegvisomant.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acromegaly / drug therapy*
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Hormone Antagonists / therapeutic use*
  • Human Growth Hormone / analogs & derivatives*
  • Human Growth Hormone / blood
  • Human Growth Hormone / metabolism*
  • Human Growth Hormone / therapeutic use*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Membrane Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Middle Aged
  • Octreotide / pharmacology
  • Octreotide / therapeutic use
  • Peptides, Cyclic / pharmacology
  • Peptides, Cyclic / therapeutic use
  • Somatostatin / analogs & derivatives*
  • Somatostatin / pharmacology
  • Somatostatin / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Hormone Antagonists
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Peptides, Cyclic
  • delta-hGHR
  • lanreotide
  • Human Growth Hormone
  • Somatostatin
  • pegvisomant
  • Octreotide