Clinical Research Directory

Managing Pasireotide-associated Hyperglycaemia in Acromegaly With Ketogenic Diet

Rationale: Pasireotide is a second line medical treatment for acromegaly that can add value for patients with insufficient control of disease on 1st generation SRL, or 1st generation SRL + pegvisomant. A well-known advserse effect of pasireotide is development of hyperglycemia in 50-70% of cases. Eucaloric very-low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD) improves hemoglobin a1c (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels and can show even a long-term effect on glucose regulation in patients with acromegaly. Moreover, the eucaloric VLCKD has improved disease control in patients with acromegaly. Objective: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the change in HbA1c from start of intervention (baseline of the core study) to post-four months of ketogenic diet compared to standard of care (core study) in patients developing pasireotide-induced hyperglycemia.The secondary objectives are to evaluate: * Differences between eucaloric very-low carbohydrate ketogenic diet and standard of care (diabetes medication) regarding: * Proportion of patients with target HbA1c (\<48mmol/L / \<6.5%) achieved without glucose lowering drugs (beyond metformine monotherapy) in both arms * Evaluation and sustainability of glycaemic control (HbA1c) and (dosage of) anti-diabetic drugs need to reach control * Biochemical control, and symptom score of acromegaly * Quality of life * Proportion of patients on 40 and 60 mg, proportion with normal IGF-1, tolerability, and safety of pasireotide * Exploratory evaluation of all eligible subjects considered for and started with pasireotide treatment to get a better insight into these complicated acromegaly patients and their metabolic profile. * Exploratory evaluation of other timepoints (start of pasireotide) to analyse course of Hba1c development from start of pasireotide until the end of the core study Study design: Study type: multicenter combined observational and interventional randomized controlled study. Allocation: randomized (1:1 ratio). Intervention model: parallel assignment. Masking: non (open-label). Primary purpose: supportive care. Study population: Adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of acromegaly (for whom surgery is not an option, or for whom surgery has failed) and with inadequately GH and/or IGF-1 control (\>0.8xULN) or active disease symptoms with first-generation SRL, or with inadequately GH and/or IGF-1 control (\>0.8xULN) or active disease symptoms on second-line medical treatments for acromegaly (pegvisomant monotherapy or combination therapy with first-generation SRL and pegvisomant or dopamine agonist, respectively) and with a baseline Hba1c \<44 mmol/L (6.2%) - including those pre-treated with metformin in case of HbA1c ≥44 mmol/L (6.2%) and ≤64 mmol/L (8.0%) - in whom pasireotide is considered in the clinical setting. Intervention (if applicable): We aim to include 30 acromegaly patients with pasireotide-induced hyperglycaemia, to ensure that 20 patients complete the 4-month intervention. Subjects will be randomized 1:1 to open-label eucaloric very-low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (\<40 g of carbohydrate) or standard of care (i.e. metformin, followed by sitagliptin (DPP4-inhibitor), incretin-based therapy with liraglutide (GLP-1 receptor agonist), and insulin) at the time hyperglycemia is present. The randomized intervention period is 4 months (core phase of the study). Randomized subjects who reach the end of the randomized phase can continue with the open-label extension, and opt to continue their randomized diet or DM drug treatment or freely choose the other alternative for another 4 months (extension study). Main study parameters/endpoints: Evaluation of effect of treatment with eucaloric very-low carbohydrate ketogenic diet or diabetes medication on glycaemic control of pasireotide: \- Change in HbA1c from start core study to the end of the intervention (ketogenic diet vs standard of care) Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: Study participants will have 8 visits to the outpatient clinic over a period of 12-15 months. This comes down to 480 minutes in total. During these visits, physical exam/anthropometric measurements will be performed and 2 blood tubes of 2,5 cc will be collected and 3 QoL questionnaires and one food diary will be filled out (total visit: 60 minutes). The usual burden for a single patient is 3-outpatient visits over a period of 1 year, which takes about 60 minutes in total and with the same volume of blood per visit.

PRESTO: A Phase III Randomised Controlled Trial of Dose-escalated Proton Beam Therapy Versus Standard of Care Radiotherapy for Functioning Pituitary Tumours

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether a higher dose of radiotherapy can lead to better outcomes for participants with functioning pituitary tumours. The main question it aims to answer is whether a greater proportion of participants will achieve normal hormone levels with the higher dose of proton beam radiotherapy than with standard radiotherapy treatment doses. Following randomisation, participants will receive approximately 6 weeks of either standard dose radiotherapy (intensity-modulated radiation therapy or proton beam therapy, depending on age) OR escalated dose proton beam therapy. Following this, participants will be followed up for at least 2 years to monitor their condition. This includes pituitary, hormone level, tumour, neurocognitive, and ophthalmology assessments, as well as patient-reported quality of life outcomes and health economic measures.

Ultrasound in Predicting Difficult Intubation in Acromegaly Patients

This is a prospective observational study.The purpose of this study is to predict difficult intubation with ultrasonographic evaluation combined with preoperative physical examination in patients diagnosed with acromegaly and planned for pituitary surgery.

Effects of Pasireotide Lar Therapy on Bone Metabolism

Acromegaly, a chronic condition characterized by growth hormone (GH) and, in turn, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) excess, is burdened by a series of systemic and metabolic comorbidities that strongly impair quality of life (QoL) and life expectancy. Amongst them, a specific acromegalic osteopathy has been discovered, characterized by fragility fractures associated with high bone turnover, which need to be early detected, according to most recent guidelines, since they are very frequent and related to chronic pain and reduced QoL. Morphometric vertebral fractures (VFs) are an emerging landmark of skeletal fragility in general population as well as in clinical trials, and are highly prevalent in acromegaly, being reported to affect from 30 up to 60% of patients and represent an early and common event in disease history. Until now, same groups of patients with higher risk of vertebral fractures were identified, such as those carrying incident vertebral fractures, or affected by biochemical active acromegaly, concomitant hypogonadism, or diabetes mellitus. The main aim in the management of patients with acromegaly is to normalize IGF-I levels and restore acromegaly related symptoms. To aim this treatment objective, the first line of treatment of acromegaly, when feasible, is neurosurgery. In cases where surgical intervention fails to achieve biochemical control, medical therapy is recommended, with the objective of reaching normal levels of IGF-1 and GH age-corrected. Octreotide LAR and Lanreotide are the first-line medical therapy. In patients who have not achieved adequate control with standard doses of octreotide LAR and Lanreotide, increasing the dose and/or frequency of administration can lead to improved biochemical control. In patients who are unable to achieve control even with this approach, a switch to Pasireotide LAR may be considered. In instances where patients fail to achieve biochemical control with maximal doses of SRL, or in the presence of contraindications, the use of Pegvisomant as a second-line therapy may be considered. In addition, a combination of Pegvisomant and SRL represents a potential avenue for treating patients. Prevention of VFs in acromegaly remains an open issue. It has been shown that use of GH/IGF-I lowering treatments with first-generation SSA and Pegvisomant, may reduce the risk of VFs, while improving disease control. Moreover, in a retrospective and observational multicenter study, it was recently proved that patients treated with second generation SRLs (Pasireotide-LAR) developed less frequently VFs then patients treated with Pegvisomant.

KETOgenic Diet Therapy in Patients With ACROmegaly

Acromegaly is caused by a tumour located at the base of the brain in the pituitary gland that produces too much growth hormone (GH). Symptoms caused by the excess of GH, and consequently increased insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), are disproportionate growth of body parts, fluid retention, snoring and excessive perspiration. The various metabolic changes that occur due to acromegaly increase the risk for insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, sleep apnoea and thus an increased risk of cardiovascular disease if left untreated. The result is signs and symptoms, increased mortality, morbidity, and greatly reduced quality of life (QoL). Normalisation of GH and IGF-1 gives a normalisation of mortality, however morbidity and QoL do not (completely) normalise. After surgery, a somatostatin analogue is the primary medical treatment, however, normalisation occurs in only 40% of patients. Recently, in a proof-of-principle study, the researchers showed that a 2-week ketogenic diet (low in carbohydrates) in patients with somatostatin analogues could significantly reduce IGF-1 values. Patients felt better and sometimes even needed less somatostatin analogues. This proof of concept led to the new hypothesis that acromegaly patients with somatostatin analogues should possibly be treated with a eucaloric low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet for a longer period of time to improve their biochemistry, symptoms and QoL. Additionally, this diet can make a significant contribution in the treatment of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance that often occur in this patient group.