Effectiveness of slow-release lanreotide in previously operated and untreated patients with GH-secreting pituitary macroadenoma

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Somatostatin and Lanreotide in this randomized controlled trial publication.

The aim of this study was to verify whether treatment with slow-release lanreotide (SRL) before surgery is useful in the management of patients with GH-secreting pituitary macroadenoma.

Why It Was Studied

Ten patients (group 1: 2 males and 8 females aged 44.5 +/- 4.3 years) underwent surgery via transsphenoidal access.

In the other ten patients (group 2: 3 males and 7 females aged 43.2 +/- 12.3 years), transsphenoidal surgery followed SRL treatment.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 2 patients taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Twenty untreated acromegalics were enrolled randomly in two groups.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Somatostatin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Acromegaly, Adenoma, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Human Growth Hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Peptides, Cyclic.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Somatostatin and Lanreotide in 2 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2001 (Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Somatostatin compound page and the Lanreotide compound page, all human trials.