Acromegaly associated with gangliocytoma.

BACKGROUND

Acromegaly secondary to growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) excess is rare.

AIMS/CASE DESCRIPTION: We report two patients with acromegaly who were diagnosed with sellar gangliocytomas that were immunopositive for GHRH. Tumour tissue persisted after debulking surgery and in the second case this was associated with persistent growth hormone hypersecretion, successfully suppressed by a somatostatin analogue.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of functional pituitary adenomas in association with sellar gangliocytomas is poorly understood. We present a brief discussion of the possible aetiology of these unusual pituitary tumours.