The Evaluation Of Thrombospondin 1 Levels In Patients With Acromegaly

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare disease caused by overproduction of growth hormone (GH) secreted from a benign pituitary adenoma. It has been shown in many studies that the incidence of cancer is increased in patients with acromegaly with increased GH and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Especially, colon cancer is more common. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a glycoprotein that is thought to play an important role in cancer formation. This study aimed to evaluate circulating TSP-1 levels in patients with acromegaly.Methods: This study was a case-control study. Fifty-two patients with active acromegaly with GH <1 and IGF-1 values higher than age were included in the study. Twenty-six age and gender-matched volunteers without acromegaly were included as the control group. Height, weight, and biochemical evaluations of all volunteers and acromegaly patients were performed. Serum TSP-1 levels were evaluated by ELISA.Results: The median age and gender distribution of the two groups were similar (p=0.313, p=0.148, respectively). Fasting plasma glucose and lipid parameters were not different between the groups. GH and IGF-1 were higher in patients with acromegaly (p=0.001 for both). Although TSP-1 levels were lower in the acromegaly group, the differences were not statistically significant (p=0.183). There was no correlation between TSP-1 and GH (p=0.265) and IGF-1 (p=0.131).Conclusion: It is known that the prevalence of cancer, especially colon cancer, is increased in patients with acromegaly. It has been shown in many studies that decreased TSP-1 level plays a role in cancer development. In particular, its association with somatostatin receptors suggests that it may play an important role in the future follow-up of acromegaly and treatment options. We think that studies evaluating TSP-1 levels in patients with acromegaly should be performed, especially in large patient groups diagnosed with colon cancer. Our study is the first to evaluate the level of TSP-1 in patients with acromegaly.