Many patients with pituitary tumors that
secrete growth hormone have thyroid disease
(July 2002)
The background for
the study. Thyroid dysfunction and enlargement are thought
to be common in patients with pituitary tumors that secrete growth
hormone (acromegaly). This study was undertaken to determine the
frequency of thyroid disorders in patients with acromegaly and patients
with other pituitary tumors.
How the study was done. The study
subjects were 258 patients with acromegaly (mean age, 50 years)
and 150 patients with other pituitary tumors (mean age, 48 years).
Among the latter patients, 106 had tumors that secreted prolactin
and 44 had nonsecreting tumors.
Thyroid volume was measured by ultrasonography. Thyroid biopsies
were done in 62 patients with acromegaly and 14 patients with other
pituitary tumors. Serum thyroxine, thyrotropin, growth hormone,
and prolactin were measured in all patients.
The results of the study. A thyroid
abnormality, most commonly a nodular goiter or a diffuse goiter,
was found in 78 percent of the patients with acromegaly, as compared
with 27 percent of the patients with other pituitary tumors (P<0.01).
The mean thyroid volume in 194 patients with acromegaly was 24 ml
(range, 4 to 137), as compared with 14 ml (range, 4 to 87) in the
patients with other pituitary tumors. Thyroid volume was correlated
with the estimated duration of acromegaly, but not with patient
age or serum growth hormone concentrations. Serum thyroid hormone
and thyrotropin concentrations were similar in the two groups.
The conclusions of the study. Thyroid
disorders are more common in patients with acromegaly that in those
with other pituitary tumors.
The original article. Gasperi M,
Martino E, Manetti L, Arosio M, Porretti S, Faglia G, Mariotti S,
Colao AM, Lombardi G, Baldelli R, Camanni F, Liuzzi A, and the Acromegaly
Study Group of the Italian Society of Endocrinology. Prevalence
of thyroid diseases in patients with acromegaly: results of an Italian
multi-center study. J Endocrinol Invest 2002;25:240-5.
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