Evaluation of the thyroid characteristics of patients with growth hormone-secreting adenomas

• Published in: BMC endocrine disorders Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 94 - 9
• Main Authors: Xu, Dianshuang, Wu, Bolin, Li, Xiaoju, Cheng, Yunjiu, Chen, Dubo, Fang, Yuefeng, Du, Qiu, Chen, Zhiyong, Wang, Xiaodong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 02.09.2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Acromegaly; Adenoma; Adenoma - metabolism; Adenoma - physiopathology; Adult; Aged; Biopsy; Calcification; Diagnosis; Diagnostic imaging; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Growth hormone secreting adenomas; Growth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma - metabolism; Growth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma - physiopathology; Growth hormones; Health aspects; Hormones; Hospitals; Human Growth Hormone - metabolism; Humans; Incidence; Insulin-like growth factors; Male; Menopause; Middle Aged; Morphology; Neurosurgery; NMR; Nodules; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Patients; Pituitary; Pituitary hormones; Pituitary tumors; Retrospective Studies; Somatotropin; Studies; Surgery; Taiwan - epidemiology; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid disease; Thyroid diseases; Thyroid Diseases - diagnosis; Thyroid Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Thyroid Diseases - epidemiology; Thyroid Diseases - metabolism; Thyroid Hormones - metabolism; Thyroid Nodule - diagnostic imaging; Thyroid Nodule - metabolism; Thyroid Nodule - pathology; Thyroid nodules; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonography; Ultrasound; Ultrasound imaging; Young Adult; Taiwan; China; Growth hormone secreting adenomas; Thyroid disease; Ultrasound; Thyroid nodules
• DOI: 10.1186/s12902-019-0424-x
• ISSN: 1472-6823

Acromegaly is highly associated with thyroid disorders. However, the clinical characteristics of thyroid nodules in individuals with acromegaly who present with thyroid diseases have not been completely elucidated. Overall, 134 consecutive participants with growth hormone (GH)-secreting adenoma (n = 67) and non-functioning (NF) pituitary adenoma (n = 67) were recruited from the outpatient and inpatient patient department of The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University from August 2015 to August 2017. Thyroid ultrasonography was performed using an ultrasound system. The cytopathological results of fine-needle aspiration biopsy were analyzed by a pathologist according to the Bethesda system. Twenty-one patients with GH-secreting adenoma and thyroid disease underwent transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection and were followed up for 1 year. The prevalence of thyroid disease increased in the GH-secreting adenoma group compared with that in the NF pituitary adenoma group. The number of hypoechoic, isoechogenic, heterogeneous, and vascular thyroid nodules increased in patients with GH-secreting adenoma plus thyroid disease compared with that in patients with NF pituitary adenoma plus thyroid disease. Finally, we found significant decreases in the morphology of solid nodules and significant increases in the morphology of cystic nodules after surgery compared with those before surgery in the cured group. Moreover, the numbers of heterogeneous and vascular thyroid nodules decreased significantly after surgery compared with those before surgery in the cured group. However, the characteristics of the thyroid nodules did not change after surgery compared with those before surgery in the non-cured group. The numbers of hypoechoic, isoechoic, heterogeneous, and vascular thyroid nodules increased in patients with GH-secreting adenomas. In these patients, surgery resulted in significant changes from solid to cystic nodules and also reduced the numbers of heterogeneous and vascular thyroid nodules.