RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS AND CLINICAL-PARAMETERS IN ACROMEGALY

From our series of 185 somatotropic adenomas with acromegaly, we found that sparsely granulated adenomas were more frequent (56%) than dense ly granulated ones. Immunocytochemistry detected growth hormone (GH) p lurihormonal adenomas in 68% of patients. GH-alpha-subunit (alpha SU) and GH-alpha SU-prolactin (PRL) were more frequent (38%) than GH monoh ormonal adenomas (32%). The colocalization of GH and alpha SU in the s ame cell was obvious in many tumors. In contrast, colocalization of GH and PRL was demonstrated in only 25% of GH-PRL adenomas. The relation ships between age, sex, tumor size, GH and PRL plasma levels, granular ity, and percentage of GH-, alpha SU-, and PRL-immunoreactive cells we re established in 105 acromegalic patients by three statistical method s, mainly by a principal component analysis. Correlations were found b etween the percentage of alpha SU- and GH-immunoreactive cells, and be tween densely granulated character and the percentage of GH-immunoreac tive cells. Tumor size was not correlated with alpha SU, but was posit ively correlated with PRL plasma levels. Patients' age and percentage of GH-immunoreactive cells were inversely related to tumor size. Pluri secretion and sparsely granulated aspect are not related to age and tu mor size. Copyright (C) 1966 by W.B. Saunders Company.