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Diagnosis and Treatment

How is acromegaly diagnosed?

To find out if you have acromegaly, your doctor will order one or more tests. These may include:

A blood test for high IGF-I levels
This is the first screening test for acromegaly. It’s one simple blood test, done any time of the day with no fasting needed. High IGF-I levels are almost always a sign of acromegaly.
A blood test for abnormal GH levels
A series of blood samples are taken over several hours. This test requires avoiding food overnight, skipping breakfast, and drinking a glucose (sugar) solution in the morning.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
This test allows your doctor to find and measure the benign tumor that may be causing too much GH and IGF-I. The tumor is usually in the pituitary gland, but in rare cases can be in other areas of the body.

How is acromegaly treated?

Acromegaly is a complex disease. Most people with acromegaly are able to control their disease, but it often takes more than one type of treatment. Possible treatments include:

Surgery
Radiation therapy
Medicine

Surgery:

In most cases, surgery is the first step in treatment. The goal of the surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible. The success of surgery depends greatly on the size and location of the pituitary tumor, and the skill of the surgeon. In some cases, surgery is not recommended.

GH and IGF-I levels usually fall after surgery, but they do not always return to a normal range. Also, some people cannot have surgery because of their age, tumor location, or a medical condition. Some people choose not to have the surgery. For these reasons, another treatment option is often needed.

Radiation Therapy:

Radiation therapy is another option for treatment, although it’s usually not the first option. The decision to try radiation therapy depends on earlier treatments and tumor growth. There are several different kinds of radiation therapy. Which one is best depends on the size and location of the tumor. Radiation therapy can take months or years to reach its full effect.

Medicine:

Many people need prescription medicines to help control their acromegaly and their hormone levels (both GH and IGF-I). There are several different kinds of medicines used to treat acromegaly. As with the other therapies, using medicines depends on several factors, including prior treatments.

All treatments have potential benefits and risks. You should talk with your doctor about specific side effects and what may be right for you.

What are the goals of treatment?

The goals of treatment are to control the excess of hormones and to relieve the signs and symptoms of acromegaly.

Next: Living with Acromegaly >>

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How SOMAVERT works

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What to Expect with SOMAVERT

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Help Paying for SOMAVERT

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Guide for Taking SOMAVERT

Follow these instructions to use SOMAVERT properly

Your SOMAVERT
Starter Kit

As you begin treatment, your starter kit includes several tools that you may find helpful

SOMAVERT (pegvisomant for injection) is a prescription medicine for acromegaly. It is for patients whose disease has not been controlled by surgery, radiation, and/or other medical therapies, or patients for whom these options are not appropriate. The goal of treatment with SOMAVERT is to have a normal IGF-I level in the blood.

Important Safety Information for Patients

Do not use SOMAVERT if you are allergic to SOMAVERT or anything that is in it.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you use narcotic painkillers (opioid medicines) because the dose of SOMAVERT may need to be changed.

Tumors that make growth hormone may grow in people with acromegaly. Studies have shown that the size of these tumors generally does not change for people who use SOMAVERT. Even so, these tumors need to be watched carefully by your doctor. Your doctor may ask you to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test to monitor the size of your tumor.

Blood sugar levels may go down when taking SOMAVERT. Be sure to tell your doctor if you use insulin or other medicines (oral hypoglycemic medicines) for diabetes. The dose of these medicines may need to be reduced when you use SOMAVERT.

Some people who have used SOMAVERT have developed liver problems. These problems generally disappeared when those people stopped taking SOMAVERT.

Stop the drug right away and call your doctor if you get any of these symptoms:

Your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice)
Your urine turns dark
Your bowel movements (stools) turn light in color
You do not feel like eating for several days
You feel sick to your stomach (nausea)
You have unexplained tiredness
You have pain in the stomach area (abdomen)

Your doctor may do blood tests before and during your treatment with SOMAVERT to check that the IGF-I levels in your blood are normal and/or that your liver is working correctly. Your dose of SOMAVERT may be changed based on the results of these tests.

The most common side effects with SOMAVERT are pain, infection, reaction at the injection site, flu-like symptoms, nausea, and diarrhea. These are not all of the possible side effects of SOMAVERT. For more information, speak to your doctor.

Inject SOMAVERT in a different place on your body each day. This can help prevent skin problems such as lumpiness or soreness.

SOMAVERT has not been studied in pregnant women. It is not known if SOMAVERT passes into the mother’s milk or if it can harm the baby.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

The health information contained herein is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace discussions with a healthcare provider. All decisions regarding patient care must be made with a healthcare provider, considering the unique characteristics of the patient.

This product information is intended only for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico. The products discussed herein may have different labeling in different countries.

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