{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,25]],"date-time":"2026-01-25T07:00:45Z","timestamp":1769324445557,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","content-domain":{"domain":["eje.bioscientifica.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2001,12,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>BACKGROUND: Recent data has raised skepticism regarding the long-term effectiveness of radiotherapy (RxT) in acromegaly and its role as an ancillary tool to neurosurgery (Tx). PATIENTS: We evaluated 72 acromegalic patients previously submitted to RxT. Data were discarded in 23 patients, who were lost to follow-up, operated on after RxT or irradiated with techniques different from external conventional fractionated RxT. Among the remaining 49 (five with mixed GH-prolactin adenoma), 34 were irradiated after surgical failure and 15 as primary treatment. A second cycle of RxT was administered in two. RESULTS: (i) GH\/IGF-I. After a median follow-up of 14 years (range 3-41), normal age-matched IGF-I levels were reached in eight patients (16%) after 10 years, and GH levels &lt;2.5 microg\/l in six (12%) after 9 years. The rate of persistently pathological hormonal levels was still 90% at 25 years. All patients with GH\/IGF-I normalization had undergone irradiation without any antisecretory drug. Neither basal GH nor tumor size affected the outcome of RxT. In three patients (6%) a relapse\/worsening occurred. (ii) Tumor size. Tumor shrank after 8.5 years in 24 patients (49%), in nine of whom during GH-suppressive treatment. Tumor shrinkage was not predictive of hormonal normalization. (iii) Side-effects. Hypopituitarism was diagnosed in four patients (selective in three and global in one) and GH deficiency in one. Three patients had neurological side-effects and meningioma was shown in two patients. CONCLUSION: RxT is unable to cure acromegaly, because it seldom achieves hormonal normalization even after a very prolonged follow-up. Concomitant antisecretory treatment seems to counteract its effects. RxT can still play a role in those patients with large tumor remnants, because of its capacity to shrink tumor size.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1530\/eje.0.1450717","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2005,1,24]],"date-time":"2005-01-24T21:34:41Z","timestamp":1106602481000},"page":"717-726","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1530\/crossmarkpolicy-1","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":60,"title":["Failure of radiotherapy in acromegaly"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"R","family":"Cozzi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M","family":"Barausse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"D","family":"Asnaghi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"D","family":"Dallabonzana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S","family":"Lodrini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"R","family":"Attanasio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","container-title":["European Journal of Endocrinology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/eje.bioscientifica.com\/view\/journals\/eje\/145\/6\/717.xml","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/eje.bioscientifica.com\/view\/journals\/eje\/145\/6\/717.xml","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,14]],"date-time":"2023-02-14T16:30:30Z","timestamp":1676392230000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ejendo\/article\/145\/6\/717\/6750469"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2001,12,1]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1530\/eje.0.1450717","relation":{},"ISSN":["0804-4643","1479-683X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0804-4643","type":"print"},{"value":"1479-683X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2001,12,1]]}}}