Medical Treatment of Acromegaly: What's New?

Abstract

Acromegaly is a chronic and progressive disorder caused by growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) excess, responsible for the onset of multiple systemic complications. Targets of acromegaly treatment are the normalization of hormonal (GH/IGF-1) parameters, the removal/reduction/stabilization of the pituitary mass, the control of existing conditions, and the prevention of new ones, so to improve quality of life and normalize life expectancy. Patients often require a multimodal therapeutic approach, including surgery, medical therapy, and radiotherapy, that allows disease cure/control in the majority of the cases. However, some pituitary tumors are resistant to treatments and/or recur. Novelties in the field of medical treatment in acromegaly can be summarized as follows: (a) new protocols applied to existing medications; (b) new devices to administer old drugs; (c) new formulations, and (d) new drugs. In this review, we aim at summarizing the current protocols and drugs to treat acromegaly (standard of care), and presenting the new pharmacological options including those drugs that are still being tested and could be released in the market in the next few years.