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What is the role of medication in treatment?
An important goal of treatment is to reduce IGF-I to a level that is normal for your age — and keep it there. Returning IGF-I levels to normal can help relieve some of the signs and symptoms of acromegaly.
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How is acromegaly treated and controlled?

The goals of therapy are to:

  • Make sure the pituitary gland works as it should
  • Reduce pressure on surrounding brain tissue
  • Reverse or reduce symptoms of acromegaly

To reduce some of these symptoms, IGF-I levels need to be brought down to normal.

You may need more than one kind of treatment. Treatment may include:

  • Surgery
  • Radiation therapy
  • Medicines

With one or more of these treatments, most people can control their disease.

Surgery

Surgery is often the first treatment. The goal of surgery is to take out most or all of the tumor. Most often, IGF-I and growth hormone (GH) levels fall after surgery. If they do not go back to normal, other treatment may be required.

Radiation therapy

Some people get radiation to treat the tumor. Radiation may take a long time to work. And it can have side effects.

Medical Therapy

Medications may be used along with other treatments or after surgery and radiation have been tried. Medications can also have side effects, but they can help control acromegaly. Usually, to keep the disease controlled, medicines must be taken for life. You can read about one of these medicines on the following pages.

SOMAVERT® (pegvisomant for injection) is the first and only GH-receptor antagonist. It is indicated for the treatment of acromegaly in patients who have not responded well to surgery and/or radiation therapy and/or other medical therapies, or for whom these therapies are not appropriate. The goal of treatment is to normalize serum IGF-I levels.