Efficacy of the long-acting octreotide formulation in patients with thyroid-stimulating hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas after incomplete surgery and octreotide treatment failure.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Little information about the current management of patients with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenomas or about the usefulness of the somatostatin analogue octreotide was contained in the literature. This study aimed to report the efficacy and safety of the long-acting octreotide formulation in patients with TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas after incomplete surgery and octreotide treatment failure.

METHODS:

Fifteen patients with TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas (8 men and 7 women), who previously underwent incomplete surgical resection and/or adjuvant radiotherapy (n = 12) and failure of octreotide treatment (n = 15), followed between 2007 and 2010 in Beijing Tiantan Hospital were included in this study. All patients received 1- to 2-months of the long-acting octreotide formulation treatment after the above combination of treatment. Paired samples t-test was used to analysis the variables.

RESULTS:

After two-month duration of the long-acting octreotide formulation treatment, the mean serum free or unbound thyroxine (FT4) ((16.02 ± 1.72) pmol/L) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) ((2.87 ± 0.43) pmol/L) levels of 15 patients significantly decreased compared with those after octreotide-treatment (FT4, (35.36 ± 7.42) pmol/L, P < 0.001; FT3, (17.85 ± 7.22) pmol/L, P < 0.001). Mean TSH levels stayed in the normal range after the long-acting octreotide formulation treatment ((0.72 ± 0.21) mU/L) and were significantly lower than the pretreatment value ((5.27 ± 1.04) mU/L, P < 0.001), post-surgery value ((3.37 ± 0.31) mU/L, P < 0.001) and post-octreotide-treatment value ((4.52 ± 0.41) mU/L, P < 0.001). In these patients with TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas there was no evidence of tachyphylaxis.

CONCLUSION:

The long-acting octreotide formulation may be a useful and safe therapeutic tool to facilitate the medical treatment of TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas in patients who underwent incomplete surgery or need long-term somatostatin analog therapy.

• Authors: Chun-Fang Zhang, Dan Liang, Li-Yong Zhong
• Journal: Chinese medical journal (Chin Med J (Engl)) Vol. 125 Issue 15 Pg. 2758-63 (Aug 2012) ISSN: 2542-5641 [Electronic] China
• PMID: 22931988 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Triiodothyronine
• Thyrotropin
• Thyroxine
• Octreotide

Topics

• Adult
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Octreotide (therapeutic use)
• Pituitary Neoplasms (blood, drug therapy, metabolism, surgery)
• Thyrotropin (blood, metabolism)
• Thyroxine (blood)
• Triiodothyronine (blood)