Consensus statement: benefits versus risks of medical therapy for acromegaly.

A consensus panel defined the risks and benefits of medical management of acromegaly and determined a place for the use of the somatostatin analogue, octreotide, in the overall management strategy of patients with acromegaly. Octreotide was considered effective in managing acromegaly, and its role as an adjuvant to surgery was defined. Octreotide is beneficial to radiotherapy-treated patients in that the drug suppresses growth hormone (GH) secretion until the long-term effects of radiation occur. Complications associated with octreotide are minor relative to the benefits, but requirements for multiple daily injections and drug cost are drawbacks. Approximately 20% to 30% of octreotide-treated acromegalic patients develop gallstones or sludge, which are usually asymptomatic and require no treatment. Surgery continues to be the principal therapeutic approach for GH-secreting pituitary tumors, and improved octreotide delivery methods and second-generation analogues will provide further advantages for pharmacotherapy.