VIDEO: Acromegaly study reveals gender-specific differences

BOSTON – Men with acromegaly present at a younger age, have higher IGF-1 levels, and achieve lower biochemical control rates than women with the disorder, according to study results presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

The study was based on data for 112 patients (54 male, 58 female) operated on by one neurosurgeon between 1994 and 2016. The mean age at surgery was 43.6 years in men and 48.7 in women (P = .04), according to Talin Handa, Emory University, Atlanta, who presented the retrospective analysis.

Men had higher mean IGF-1 levels (874 ng/mL vs. 716 ng/mL for women; P less than .01), and were more likely to have hypopituitarism.

Adjuvant treatment for acromegaly was needed in 57% of men and 49% of women. Following adjuvant treatment, 72% of men maintained surgical remission or achieved normal IGF-1 levels, compared with 89% of women (P = .03). Mean follow-up was shorter in men, 3.6 years, versus 5.2 years for women (P = .02), the researchers reported.

Six-year event-free survival was higher in women (P less than .01), according to the researchers.

For more study findings, watch our video interview.

SOURCE: Handa T et al. AACE 2018. Abstract #824.