The Association Between Somatostatin Receptor Ligand and Vitamin B12 in Patients with Acromegaly

Objective: Vitamin B12 deficiency causes hematologic and neuropsychiatric disorders, thus it is important to evaluate it in risky situations. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between somatostatin receptor ligands and vitamin B12 in patients with acromegaly.

Methods: Patients who were followed up with the diagnosis of acromegaly in the Endocrinology and Metabolism outpatient clinic of Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty were evaluated. Patients were divided into groups according to their somatostatin receptor ligand use status. The groups were evaluated according to their vitamin B12 levels, demographic data, and biochemical parameters.

Results: One hundred fifty-two patients were evaluated. Thirteen patients had vitamin B12 defi- ciency. The majority (11/13) of patients with vitamin B12 deficiency were using somatostatin recep- tor ligands. In addition, the number of patients with vitamin B12 deficiency who received lanreotide autogel treatment was significantly higher compared with patients who did not use somatostatin receptor ligands (P = .011). Vitamin B12 levels were higher in patients who received lanreotide auto- gel treatment than in patients who did not use SRL treatment (P = .040). There was a negative cor- relation between vitamin B12 levels and lanreotide autogel use time and the cumulative lanreotide autogel dose.

Conclusion: It is important to evaluate vitamin B12 levels in the follow-up of patients with acro- megaly receiving somatostatin receptor ligand therapy because these patients have lower levels of vitamin B12 compared with patients who do not use somatostatin receptor ligand therapy.

Cite this article as: Şahin S, Eşkazan T, Yağız Özoğul Y, et al. The association between somatostatin receptor ligand and vitamin B12 in patients with acromegaly. Turk J Endocrinol Metab. 2022;26(2):67-72.