Gross total resection or debulking of pituitary adenomas improves hormonal control of acromegaly by somatostatin analogs.

Introduction: Invasive GH-secreting pituitary adenomas are rarely cured by surgery and although long-term therapy with somatostatin analogs (SSAs) may be employed, hormonal control is achieved in only 60% of cases. The impact of tumor debulking on subsequent control of acromegaly with SSAs has not been studied previously.

Methods: We studied retrospectively the response to SSA therapy in acromegalic patients before and after incomplete surgical tumor excision.