Increased risk of preneoplastic colonic lesions and colorectal carcinoma in acromegaly: multicenter case-control study.

PURPOSE: Current international guidelines recommend colonoscopy in patients with acromegaly at the time of diagnosis, even though the risk of developing colorectal neoplasm is still controversial. The main objective of this Argentine multicenter study was to analyze through screening colonoscopy the presence of advanced neoplastic lesions considered as precancerous, in patients with acromegaly compared to a control group. METHODS: This is a case-control retrospective study. Full length colonoscopy of 70 acromegalic patients and 128 control subjects were studied. Polyps were classified into non pre-cancerous lesions and advance neoplastic lesions which included advanced adenomas (preneoplastic) and colorectal carcinomas. RESULTS: Thirty three out of 70 acromegalic patients and 32 out of 128 subjects controls presented polyps in the colonoscopy [47.1% vs 25%, p = 0.002, OR 2.68]. Non precancerous polyps were found in 11 (15.7%) and 23 (17.9%) (p = 0.690), while advanced neoplastic lesions were found in 22 (31.4%) and 9 (7.0%) (p = 0,0001 - OR: 6.06) patients and controls respectively. Advanced adenomas and colorectal carcinomas were found in 18 (27.3%) and 9 (7.0%) (p = 0,0006-OR: 4,57), and 4 (5.7%) and 0 (0.0%) p = 0.0063) of patients and controls respectively. The presence of insulin resistance was the only statistically significant associated factor among acromegalic patients with and without colonic polyps. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show an increased risk of preneoplastic colonic lesions and colorectal carcinoma in patients with chronic and sustained GH excess compared to a control group. This supports the recommendation to perform screening colonoscopy at diagnosis of acromegaly.

Riesgo aumentado de lesiones colónicas preneoplásicas en acromegalia: estudio multicéntrico caso control. Resultados preliminares / Increased risk of pre-cancerous bowel lesions in acromegaly: Multicentre case-control study. Preliminary results

Introducción: El riesgo de desarrollar neoplasias colónicas en pacientes acromegálicos y su relación directa con los niveles elevados de GH/IGF-1 no están bien establecidos y continúan siendo motivo de controversia en la literatura mundial. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el riesgo de desarrollar lesiones neoplásicas avanzadas (LNA) (adenomas mayores a 1 cm, componente velloso mayor del 75% y/o displasia de alto grado), en pacientes con acromegalia, comparado con un grupo control. Materiales y métodos: Estudio multicéntrico caso-control retrospectivo. Ciento treinta y siete pacientes con acromegalia que realizaron videocolonoscopia (VCC) fueron incluidos inicialmente, aunque solo 69 cumplieron criterios de inclusión. Sesenta y dos controles fueron obtenidos: por cada caso (paciente con acromegalia) 2 «controles¼ fueron seleccionados aleatorizadamente e igualados por edad y sexo. El riesgo se expresó en odds ratio (OR) y su correspondiente intervalo de confianza (IC) del 95%. La significación estadística fue considerada una p < 0,05. Resultados: De los 69 pacientes con VCC completa y datos adecuados para su análisis, 28 presentaron VCC positiva con hallazgos de pólipos (40%) y 41 VCC negativa o normal (60%). Dentro del grupo con VCC positiva, 14 presentaron LNA (20%) y solo un paciente presentó diagnóstico de cáncer colorrectal. Para el análisis caso-control se incluyó a 31 pacientes frente al grupo control (n = 62) que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. La presencia de pólipos colónicos, adenomas y LNA en los pacientes con acromegalia fue de 19/31 (61,9%), 14/31 (45,16%) y 10/31 (32,25%), y en el grupo control de 18/62 (29,03%), 11/62 (17,74%) y 4/62 (6,45%), respectivamente. El riesgo de adenomas y LNA fue mayor en el grupo de acromegalia en comparación con el grupo control, siendo ambos resultados estadísticamente significativos: adenomas OR 2,54 (IC 1,22-5,25) p = 0,005, LNA OR: 7,3 (2,4-25), p = 0,00. Conclusión: La acromegalia se asocia a un mayor riesgo de lesiones colónicas preneoplásicas. Este hallazgo justifica el cribado con VCC al diagnóstico en pacientes con acromegalia.

Background: The risk of developing cancerous lesions in the colon of acromegaly patients and their direct relationship with elevated growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels is not well established, and is still controversial in the international literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of developing advanced neoplastic lesions (ALN: greater than 1 cm adenomas, villous component greater than 75% and/or high grade dysplasia) in patients with acromegaly compared to a control group. Materials and methods: A multicentre, retrospective case-control study was conducted initially on 137 patients with acromegaly (cases) who underwent videocolonoscopy (VCC), although only 69 met inclusion criteria. Sixty-two controls were obtained, and for each case two "controls" were randomly selected and matched by age and gender. Risk was expressed as odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% con"dence interval (CI). P values < .05 were considered statistical significantly. Results: Of the 69 acromegaly patients with a completed VCC and adequate data for their analysis, 28 had a positive VCC with findings of polyps (40%), and 41 VCC negative with no lesions (60%). Within the group with positive VCC, 14 were ALN (20%) and one a colorectal cancer. In the case-control analysis, 31 cases were to be analysed against the control group (n = 62). The presence of colonic polyps, adenomas, and ALN in patients with acromegaly was 19/31 (61.9%), 14/31 (45.16%), and 10/31 (32.25%), respectively, and in the control group, it was 18/62 (29.03%), 11/62 (17.74%), and 4/62 (6.45%), respectively. The risk of adenomas and ALN was higher in the acromegaly group compared to the control group: adenomas OR: 2.54 (95% CI 1.22-5.25) P=.005, ALN OR: 7.3 (2.4-25) P=.00. Conclusion: This preliminary case control study showed an increased risk of pre-cancerous colprectal lesions in patients with acromegaly, supporting the VCC screening at diagnosis.