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Article
| Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2005; 113: 219-224
DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-837552 |
J. A. Barth Verlag in Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York |
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Gamma-Knife Surgery is Effective in Normalising Plasma Insulin-Like Growth Factor I in Patients with Acromegaly |
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| B. Gutt1, B. Wowra2, R. Alexandrov3, E. Uhl4, L. Schaaf3, G. K. Stalla3, J. Schopohl1 |
1 Department of Internal Medicine Innenstadt, University of Munich, Munich, Germany
2 Gamma-Knife-Zentrum, Munich, Germany
3 Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Dept. of Endocrinology, Munich, Germany
4 Department of Neurosurgery, University of Munich, Munich, Germany |
Abstract
Objective: For patients in whom acromegaly persists despite pituitary surgery or drug treatment, gamma-knife surgery represents an additional treatment option. Considering carefully the different reported biochemical outcomes, the central point is whether gamma-knife radiosurgery has advantages compared to conventional radiotherapy or, furthermore, to newer medical therapies, such as long-acting somatostatin analogues or growth hormone receptor antagonists. Design and Methods: We report the outcome of 44 patients with acromegaly, who received gamma-knife surgery with the Leksell gamma knife. The median follow-up time was 1.9 years (0.5 - 4.3 years) post-radiosurgery. 43 of 44 patients had previously undergone pituitary surgery. Results: Immediately prior to gamma-knife surgery, median xULN of patients' serum IGF-I was 1.9 times above upper limit of normal (range: 0.5 - 8.9 xULN [multiple of upper limit of normal range]). There was a significant decline of serum IGF-I at patients' final follow-up. We found a normal age-adjusted IGF‐I in 21/44 patients (xULN of IGF-I < 1). Furthermore, as the number of treated patients increased, we found an improvement in remission rate, which let us assume that there was a learning effect for the gamma-knife performing team over time. In addition, the median adenoma size decreased from 1.5 ml (0.1 - 6.9 ml) prior to gamma-knife therapy to 0.3 ml (no rest vol. detectable - 2.4 ml) at patients' last visit. Conclusion: We have shown that pituitary gamma-knife surgery is effective in lowering serum IGF-I levels. At the end of the follow-up period, 48 % of our cohort had normal age-adjusted IGF‐I levels.
Key words
Acromegaly - gamma-knife surgery - irradiation
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