SAN FRANCISCO, CA — June 24, 2002 —
A new medication for acromegaly, pegvisomant (SomavertÒ), is effective for a higher percentage of patients than conventional somatostatin analogues, and it does not appear to stimulate tumour growth. In findings presented ENDO 2002, the 84th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, investigators reported that pegvisomant normalises insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in 90 percent of patients. The medication inhibits growth hormone (GH) receptor binding, while somatostatin analogues work by suppressing GH secretion
. The investigators evaluated the drug’s effect on tumour volume based on prior acromegaly treatment in 131 acromegaly patients with pituitary tumours as part of a phase III study. The patients had undergone the following types of therapy prior to entering the trial: 69 had had surgery and conventional external beam radiotherapy; 42 had undergone surgery only; nine had undergone radiation only; and 11 had received no prior therapy. The patients received subcutaneous pegvisomant injections at doses of 10 to 40 mg/day. The goal was to normalise IGF-I levels.
השאירו תגובה
רוצה להצטרף לדיון?תרגישו חופשי לתרום!