Long-term outcome of macroprolactinomas.

OBJECTIVE: Management of macroprolactinomas has dramatically changed in recent decades, from surgical to medical treatment as first-line therapy, with the development of dopamine agonists (DA). But few data exist on the long-term outcome of these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective descriptive multicenter study of patients with macroprolactinoma followed for at least 5 years between 1973 and 2008 at the University Hospitals of Strasbourg and Marseille. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were included with 27 men, hypopituitarism in 33.3% of all patients and mean serum prolactin (PRL) level at diagnosis 2218.2±4154.7µg/L. Among the patients, 58.3% received medical treatment, 25% had additional surgery and 12.5% surgery and radiotherapy. The mean follow-up duration was 196±100 months. At the end of follow-up, 10 patients (20.8%) were cured (i.e. normal PRL level and normal imaging, no symptoms and withdrawal of DA≥1 year), 33 (68.8%) were controlled (i.e. normal PRL level, normal or abnormal imaging, no symptoms, DA in progress) and 5 (10.4%) were uncontrolled. Uncontrolled patients had significant higher baseline PRL level (P=0.0412) and cabergoline cumulative dose (P=0.0065) compared to the controlled group. There was no increase in frequency of hypopituitarism. Clinically significant valvular heart disease was found in 2 patients but screening was not systematic. CONCLUSIONS: Macroprolactinoma is currently most often a chronic disease controlled with DA. However, uncertainty about the adverse effects associated with high cumulative doses and the lack of data on the prognosis at very long-term should incite to revisit current strategies, including the role of surgery combined to medical treatment.

Interest of systematic screening of pheochromocytoma in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1.

OBJECTIVE: Pheochromocytoma (PHEO) may occur in 0.1-5.7% of patients presenting with a neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Current recommendations are to explore only symptomatic patients. The objective of the study is to evaluate the prevalence and the interest of a systematic PHEO screening in this population. DESIGN: A prospective study in a French tertiary center including consecutive NF1 patients older than 18 years. METHODS: A systematic screening combining abdominal imaging and urinary fractionated metanephrines was proposed. In case of positivity of one or both exams, (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy or [(18)F]-fluoro-dihydroxyphenylalanine PET imaging was performed. The diagnosis of secreting PHEO was retained in case of elevated urinary metanephrines associated with positive scintigraphy and non-secreting PHEO when urinary metanephrines were normal with a positive scintigraphy. RESULTS: Between January 2014 and August 2015, 234 patients were included and 156 patients (66.7%) completed both exams. In these 156 patients, 12 PHEOs were diagnosed, representing a prevalence of 7.7%. Of these, six PHEOs were secreting, with only two symptomatic patients. The tumor size of these PHEOs were bigger than that of non-secreting PHEO (25.2 ± 6.6 vs 14 ± 6.9 mm, P = 0.0165). One lesion was bilateral. Mean metanephrine and normetanephrine levels were 3.2 ± 2.6N and 2.8 ± 1N respectively. Three patients underwent surgery. The six patients with non-secreting PHEO were asymptomatic. One of them had bilateral lesion and one underwent surgery. CONCLUSIONS: PHEO in NF1, whether or not secreting, are mostly asymptomatic. The current strategy to explore only symptomatic patients leads to an underestimation of prevalence with the risks inherent to the existence of an unrecognized PHEO.

Continuous glucose monitoring in hemodialyzed patients with type 2 diabetes: a multicenter pilot study.

AIMS: Hemodialyzed patients with diabetes face an increased cardiovascular risk. Optimal glycemic control can reduce morbidity and mortality, but it is difficult to achieve because of the alternation between dialysis and non-dialysis periods. This study evaluated the contribution of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to the management of insulin regimen. METHODS: In this pilot prospective multicenter study, we performed CGM (Navigator®, Abbott, Rungis, France) for a total of 54 hours at baseline and for a 3-month follow-up period in a group of 28 hemodialyzed patients with type 2 diabetes treated by a basal-bolus detemir plus aspart insulin regimen. Insulin therapy was adapted to the CGM values. HbA1c and CGM parameters collected over the 3-month treatment period were compared using MANOVA for repeated measures. RESULTS: After 3 months, HbA1c significantly decreased from 8.4 ± 1.0% (65 ± 1 mmol/mol) to 7.6 ± 1.0% (60 ± 11 mmol/mol; p < 0.01). Similarly, mean CGM glucose values significantly decreased from 9.9 ± 1.9 to 8.9 ± 2.1 mmol/L (p = 0.05). The frequency of glucose values > 10 mmol/L significantly decreased from 41.3 ± 21.9% to 30.1 ± 22.4% (p < 0.05), without a significant increase in the frequency of glucose values < 3.3 mmol/L. Insulin requirements significantly increased from 70 ± 51 IU/d to 82 ± 77 IU/d (p < 0.001), without significant changes in body weight. CONCLUSIONS: CGM-adapted insulin regimen improves glycemic control without increasing hypoglycemic events in hemodialyzed diabetic patients. CGM could be a useful tool for the management of insulin therapy in these patients. These results need to be confirmed by long-term studies with larger sample sizes.