touchCONGRESS Continuing the conversation in growth hormone disorders – how do we progress towards personalized medicine for patients with acromegaly?

In this interview, John Wass answers the following questions:

• Data presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 suggest the need to revise OGTT cut-offs to identify acromegaly sooner. Do you think more cases of acromegaly would be identified if the current OGTT cut-off was revised?
• A qualitative study provided ideas from acromegaly patients on how to improve the process of acromegaly diagnosis. What are your thoughts on their suggestions and do you see the value of qualitative research in guiding clinical practice?
• A control group study presented at ECE 2019 suggests a key metabolic fingerprint of acromegaly is lower BCAAs, particularly in active disease. Will these findings facilitate your clinical practice in any way and if so how?
• Studies presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 found second-generation SRLs to offer biochemical control in those patients not responding to first-generation SRLs. How do you interpret the presented findings for your clinical practice?
• Which data stood out for you at ECE 2019 and why? What are their implications for clinical practice?

Prof. John Wass, MD, PhD, Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, has been a Consultant Physician since 1982. He is also the Clinical Lead for the endocrinology workstream of ‘Getting It Right First Time’ (GIRFT), a national programme led by front-line clinicians to help improve the quality and consistency of medical care within the NHS.

Prof. Wass’ extensive clinical and research interests span pituitary tumours, acromegaly, growth hormone deficiency, angiogenesis in endocrinology, and the genetics of osteoporosis and thyroid disease. He has published over 385 articles in scientific journals, written many reviews and chapters in textbooks, and edited several textbooks, including the Oxford Textbook of Endocrinology, Clinical Endocrine Oncology, and the Oxford Handbook of Endocrinology. He also presented the BBC documentary ‘The Fantastical World of Hormones,’ which was broadcast in the UK in March 2014.

In June 1995, Prof. Wass was awarded Distinguished Physician of the Year Award by the American Endocrine Society, making him the first non-American to receive this award. In 2017, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Pituitary Society in the USA.

Disclosures: None

In this interview, Gérald Raverot answers the following questions:

• Data presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 suggest the need to revise OGTT cut-offs to identify acromegaly sooner. Do you think more cases of acromegaly would be identified if the current OGTT cut-off was revised?
• A qualitative study provided ideas from acromegaly patients on how to improve the process of acromegaly diagnosis. What are your thoughts on their suggestions and do you see the value of qualitative research in guiding clinical practice?
• A control group study presented at ECE 2019 suggests a key metabolic fingerprint of acromegaly is lower BCAAs, particularly in active disease. Will these findings facilitate your clinical practice in any way and if so how?
• Studies presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 found second-generation SRLs to offer biochemical control in those patients not responding to first-generation SRLs. How do you interpret the presented findings for your clinical practice?
• Which data stood out for you at ECE 2019 and why? What are their implications for clinical practice?

Prof. Gérald

Raverot, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Endocrinology at Lyon University Hospital, the Group Leader for pituitary tumours within the Pituitary Rare Disease Reference Centre, and the President of the College of Teachers of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases (CEEDMM), Lyon, France.

Prof. Raverot leads a research team dedicated to the pathophysiology of pituitary tumours at the INSERM Research Centre, a public scientific and technological institute that operates under the joint authority of the French Ministries of Health and Research. His major research interests are pituitary tumour pathogenesis and the identification of markers of aggressiveness, to facilitate the development of potential new therapies. He has published over 200 articles within these areas of interest.

Prof. Raverot is the Chair of the European Task Force on aggressive pituitary tumours and is involved in the organization of EUROPIT, a European multidisciplinary programme that aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the management of pituitary disorders.

Prof. Gérald Raverot discloses: Research grants from Ipsen and Novartis.  Speaker fees from Ipsen, Novartis and Pfizer.  Consulting fees from Novartis.

In this interview, Sebastian Neggers answers the following questions:

• Data presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 suggest the need to revise OGTT cut-offs to identify acromegaly sooner. Do you think more cases of acromegaly would be identified if the current OGTT cut-off was revised?
• A qualitative study provided ideas from acromegaly patients on how to improve the process of acromegaly diagnosis. What are your thoughts on their suggestions and do you see the value of qualitative research in guiding clinical practice?
• A control group study presented at ECE 2019 suggests a key metabolic fingerprint of acromegaly is lower BCAAs, particularly in active disease. Will these findings facilitate your clinical practice in any way and if so how?
• Studies presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 found second-generation SRLs to offer biochemical control in those patients not responding to first-generation SRLs. How do you interpret the presented findings for your clinical practice?
• Which data stood out for you at ECE 2019 and why? What are their implications for clinical practice?

Prof. Sebastian Neggers, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since 2007, he has worked as a Consultant in Medicine and Endocrinology within the Endocrinology Department of Erasmus Medical Center. He is also affiliated with the Paediatric Oncology Department within the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam.

Prof. Neggers’ research is focused on three specific areas: the medical treatment of pituitary diseases such as acromegaly; the long-term endocrinological side-effects of common childhood cancer treatments; and, metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Within these fields, Prof. Neggers has published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and has presented his work at numerous international conferences.

Prof. Neggers is a board member for the Dutch Childhood Oncology Group late effects. He is also guest editor for Neuroendocrinology and a member of the Editorial Board for Advances in Therapy. Society memberships include The Endocrine Society and the Dutch Society for Endocrinology.

Prof. Sebastian Neggers discloses: Research grants and speaker fees from Ipsen, Novartis, and Pfizer.  Consulting fees from Ipsen and Pfizer.

In this interview, Paolo Beck-Peccoz answers the following questions:

• Data presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 suggest the need to revise OGTT cut-offs to identify acromegaly sooner. Do you think more cases of acromegaly would be identified if the current OGTT cut-off was revised?
• A qualitative study provided ideas from acromegaly patients on how to improve the process of acromegaly diagnosis. What are your thoughts on their suggestions and do you see the value of qualitative research in guiding clinical practice?
• A control group study presented at ECE 2019 suggests a key metabolic fingerprint of acromegaly is lower BCAAs, particularly in active disease. Will these findings facilitate your clinical practice in any way and if so how?
• Studies presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 found second-generation SRLs to offer biochemical control in those patients not responding to first-generation SRLs. How do you interpret the presented findings for your clinical practice?
• Which data stood out for you at ECE 2019 and why? What are their implications for clinical practice?

Prof Paolo Beck-Peccoz, MD, has held the role of Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases at the University of Milan for almost 20 years. He is recognized internationally as a leading expert in disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and has vast clinical and research experience in these diseases. He is particularly knowledgeable about pituitary TSH-secreting tumours, disorders which lead to resistance to thyroid hormones and TSH, and central hypothyroidism. He is also experienced in adrenal diseases and disorders involving the male and female gonads.

As part of his research, Prof. Beck-Peccoz has collaborated internationally with many research institutions and has published more than 1000 papers within numerous journals and books.

Prof. Beck-Peccoz served as Editor-in-Chief for the European Journal of Endocrinology from 1998–2007. He has also served on the editorial boards of several other journals, including Thyroid and PLOS Medicine. He has chaired numerous national and international endocrinology conferences.

Prof. Paolo Beck-Peccoz discloses: Research grant from Sandoz.

In this interview, Manuel Puig-Domingo answers the following questions:

• Data presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 suggest the need to revise OGTT cut-offs to identify acromegaly sooner. Do you think more cases of acromegaly would be identified if the current OGTT cut-off was revised?
• A qualitative study provided ideas from acromegaly patients on how to improve the process of acromegaly diagnosis. What are your thoughts on their suggestions and do you see the value of qualitative research in guiding clinical practice?
• A control group study presented at ECE 2019 suggests a key metabolic fingerprint of acromegaly is lower BCAAs, particularly in active disease. Will these findings facilitate your clinical practice in any way and if so how?
• Studies presented at both ECE 2019 and ENDO 2019 found second-generation SRLs to offer biochemical control in those patients not responding to first-generation SRLs. How do you interpret the presented findings for your clinical practice?
• Which data stood out for you at ECE 2019 and why? What are their implications for clinical practice?

Prof. Manuel Puig-Domingo, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Endocrinology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He is also Head of Endocrinology and Nutrition and Scientific Director at Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital in Barcelona. He serves as President of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition and coordinates the Endocrine and Obesity Research Group at the Germans Trias Research Institute. The research focus of this group is the molecular phenotyping of pituitary tumours and the identification of biomarkers and bioimaging markers that could predict therapeutic responses. He has been working within the field of thyroid cancer research for over 25 years.

The Endocrine and Obesity Research group coordinated by Prof. Puig-Domingo is also interested in the evaluation of personalized treatment algorithms for acromegaly via biochemical control of the disease.

Previous roles include Vice President of the Catalan Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition and membership of the directive board for the Spanish Society of Diabetes.

Disclosures: None