A comparison of single-dose effects of short acting somatostatin analogs: octreotide vs pasireotide in patients with acromegaly

Introduction. Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder caused in most cases by growth hormone secreting pituitary adenoma. The aim of acromegaly treatment is biochemical normalization of GH and IGF-1 concentrations leading to mortality risk reduction to the level expected in the general population. First-line medical treatment includes first generation long acting somatostatin analogs: octreotide LAR and lanreotide autogel. Recently, pasireotide – a second generation somatostatin analog has been widely investigated in acromegalic patients. Aim. The aim of this study was to compare the single-dose effects of short acting somatostatin analogs: octreotide and pasireotide in patients with active acromegaly. Material and methods. 13 patients with active acromegaly were enrolled in the study. All patients had short acting octreotide and pasireotide administered on two following days and GH and IGF-1 concentrations measured before and after drug administration. Nadir GH concentrations were compared. Results. Nadir GH value in octreotide test was reached 60 minutes after drug administration, while in pasireotide test – 180 minutes after drug administration. Median nadir GH was 3.25 ug/L (1.99-4.11) vs 1.84 ug/L (0.97-2.03) respectively, p = 0.002. Conclusions. Short acting pasireotide is more effective than short acting octreotide in supression of GH release in patients with active acromegaly.