Therapeutic options after surgical failure in Cushing's disease: A critical review

Biochemical Control in Cushing's Syndrome: Outcomes of the Treatment in a Large Single Center Cohort

BACKGROUND

Normalization of hypercortisolism is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS). The aim of this analysis was to assess biochemical control rates in patients with Cushing's disease (CD), ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS), and adrenal Cushing's syndrome (ACS).

METHODS

Patients with confirmed CS (n = 296) treated in a single tertiary care center were retrospectively analyzed (185 CD, 27 ECS, 84 uni- and bilateral ACS).

RESULTS

First-line treatment led to biochemical control in 82% of the patients. Time to biochemical control (median, interquartile range) was longer in CD (11.0 weeks, 5.6-29.8; P < .05) than in ACS (7.7 weeks, 4.1-17.1) and ECS (5.6 weeks, 4.1-23.3). Disease persistence or recurrence after first-line therapy was observed more often in CD (24% and 18%; P < .05) than in ECS (15% and 15%) and ACS (6% and 4%). Total time in hypercortisolism since diagnosis was significantly shorter in patients with CD diagnosed since 2013, after specialized patient care was implemented, compared to patients diagnosed before 2013 (13.5 weeks vs 26.1 weeks; P < .0070). Control of hypercortisolism at last follow-up (76 months, 38-163) was achieved in 94% of patients with ACS, 100% of patients with ECS, and 92% of patients with CD.

CONCLUSION

Biochemical control can be achieved in most patients with different subtypes of CS within a reasonable time frame. Control of hypercortisolism has improved over time.

New Approaches to the Treatment of Hypercortisolism

This review explores the evolving landscape of treatments for hypercortisolism, highlighting both established and emerging therapies. Although surgery remains the cornerstone of management, medical therapies play a crucial and expanding role, especially in cases of persistent, recurrent, or severe hypercortisolism. We discuss the effectiveness and limitations of steroidogenesis inhibitors, pituitary-directed drugs, glucocorticoid receptor antagonists, and experimental drugs targeting novel molecular pathways that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypercortisolism. Despite advancements, significant unmet needs persist, underscoring the importance of personalized treatment approaches and the development of targeted therapies. Ongoing and future clinical trials are crucial for validating the safety and efficacy of these innovative treatments in Cushing disease management.

How to manage Cushing's disease after failed primary pituitary surgery

The first-line treatment for Cushing's disease is transsphenoidal adenomectomy, which can be curative in a significant number of patients. The second-line options in cases of failed primary pituitary surgery include repeat surgery, medical therapy, and radiation. The role for medical therapy has expanded in the last decade, and options include pituitary-targeting drugs, steroid synthesis inhibitors, and glucocorticoid receptor antagonists. Bilateral adrenalectomy is a more aggressive approach, which may be necessary in cases of persistent hypercortisolism despite surgery, medical treatment, or radiation or when rapid normalization of cortisol is needed. We review the available treatment options for Cushing's disease, focusing on the second-line treatment options to consider after failed primary pituitary surgery.

Pilot study to define criteria for Pituitary Tumors Centers of Excellence (PTCOE): results of an audit of leading international centers

PURPOSE

The Pituitary Society established the concept and mostly qualitative parameters for defining uniform criteria for Pituitary Tumor Centers of Excellence (PTCOEs) based on expert consensus. Aim of the study was to validate those previously proposed criteria through collection and evaluation of self-reported activity of several internationally-recognized tertiary pituitary centers, thereby transforming the qualitative 2017 definition into a validated quantitative one, which could serve as the basis for future objective PTCOE accreditation.

METHODS

An ad hoc prepared database was distributed to nine Pituitary Centers chosen by the Project Scientific Committee and comprising Centers of worldwide repute, which agreed to provide activity information derived from registries related to the years 2018-2020 and completing the database within 60 days. The database, provided by each center and composed of Excel® spreadsheets with requested specific information on leading and supporting teams, was reviewed by two blinded referees and all 9 candidate centers satisfied the overall PTCOE definition, according to referees' evaluations. To obtain objective numerical criteria, median values for each activity/parameter were considered as the preferred PTCOE definition target, whereas the low limit of the range was selected as the acceptable target for each respective parameter.

RESULTS

Three dedicated pituitary neurosurgeons are preferred, whereas one dedicated surgeon is acceptable. Moreover, 100 surgical procedures per center per year are preferred, while the results indicated that 50 surgeries per year are acceptable. Acute post-surgery complications, including mortality and readmission rates, should preferably be negligible or nonexistent, but acceptable criterion is a rate lower than 10% of patients with complications requiring readmission within 30 days after surgery. Four endocrinologists devoted to pituitary diseases are requested in a PTCOE and the total population of patients followed in a PTCOE should not be less than 850. It appears acceptable that at least one dedicated/expert in pituitary diseases is present in neuroradiology, pathology, and ophthalmology groups, whereas at least two expert radiation oncologists are needed.

CONCLUSION

This is, to our knowledge, the first study to survey and evaluate the activity of a relevant number of high-volume centers in the pituitary field. This effort, internally validated by ad hoc reviewers, allowed for transformation of previously formulated theoretical criteria for the definition of a PTCOE to precise numerical definitions based on real-life evidence. The application of a derived synopsis of criteria could be used by independent bodies for accreditation of pituitary centers as PTCOEs.

Ketoconazole as second-line treatment for Cushing's disease after transsphenoidal surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

The first-line treatment for Cushing's disease is transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary tumor resection. Ketoconazole has been used as a second-line drug despite limited data on its safety and efficacy for this purpose. The objective of this meta-analysis was to analyze hypercortisolism control in patients who used ketoconazole as a second-line treatment after transsphenoidal surgery, in addition to other clinical and laboratory criteria that could be related to therapeutic response.

Methods

We searched for articles that evaluated ketoconazole use in Cushing's disease after transsphenoidal surgery. The search strategies were applied to MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SciELO. Independent reviewers assessed study eligibility and quality and extracted data on hypercortisolism control and related variables such as therapeutic dose, time, and urinary cortisol levels.

Results

After applying the exclusion criteria, 10 articles (one prospective and nine retrospective studies, totaling 270 patients) were included for complete data analysis. We found no publication bias regarding reported biochemical control or no biochemical control (p = 0.06 and p = 0.42 respectively). Of 270 patients, biochemical control of hypercortisolism occurred in 151 (63%, 95% CI 50-74%) and no biochemical control occurred in 61 (20%, 95% CI 10-35%). According to the meta-regression, neither the final dose, treatment duration, nor initial serum cortisol levels were associated with biochemical control of hypercortisolism.

Conclusion

Ketoconazole can be considered a safe and efficacious option for Cushing's disease treatment after pituitary surgery.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#searchadvanced, (CRD42022308041).

Recurrent Cushing Disease: An Extensive Review on Pros and Cons of Different Therapeutic Approaches

OBJECTIVE

Recurrent Cushing disease (CD) is characterized by the reappearance of clinical and hormonal aspects of hypercortisolism that occur more than 6 months after an initial post-treatment remission.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the evidence about remission and complication rates after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) radiotherapy (RT) and medical therapy (MT) in recurrent CD patients. A quantitative systematic review was performed. Article selection was performed by searching MEDLINE (using PubMed), and Cochrane electronic bibliographic databases through 2020.

RESULTS

We noted 61 articles described therapeutic management of recurrent CD patients with representative outcome. A total of 723 patients received different therapeutic modality for their recurrent CD. The remission rates were 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.60-0.70), 0.57 (95% CI 0.51-0.63), and 0.75 (95% CI 0.60-0.86) in the TSS, RT, and MT subgroups, respectively. The total remission rate after therapeutic approaches on recurrent CD patients was 0.64 (95% CI 0.60-0.68). A test for subgroup differences revealed there was a statistically significant difference between different subgroups (P = 0.01). The post hoc test showed that in comparison with RT, TSS (P = 0.0344) and MT (P = 0.0149) had a higher rate of remission. However, there was no statistically significant difference between separate therapeutic modalities in terms of complications including diabetes insipidus (P = 1.0) and hypopituitarism (P = 0.28).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared MT and TSS, RT has a statistically lower rate of remission. Although there is robust superiority of surgery over RT, interpretation of MT data must considered with caution due to the small number of included cases and wide CI range.

Predictive Value of Early Postoperative Course of Serum Cortisol After Transsphenoidal Surgery for Cushing’s Disease

Objective To identify early available predictors for the long-term outcome of patients after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) in the management of Cushing’s disease.

Methods This single-center, retrospective study included 93 consecutive patients with Cushing’s disease (follow-up 12–129 months, mean 48, median 38) who underwent TSS (21 had previous operations elsewhere). Six cases had early re-operation, and the resulting data were evaluated instead of the respective first operation. During the postoperative course, serum cortisol levels were assessed every four hours at least until the next morning. An association of parameters with long-term outcomes was tested using binary logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of different cut-off values of serum cortisol in the postoperative course in the event of recurrence after remission.

Results Eighty out of 93 patients (86%) showed postoperative remission (after primary treatment, 60 out of 72 patients, 90.3%). Of these, 8 patients (10%) developed recurrence of hypercortisolism. Compared to patients with persisting long-term remission, those with recurrence differed in cortisol levels starting from 4 pm on the day of surgery plus an event of increasing cortisol during the early postoperative course (“peak”). Binary logistic regression showed the association between a peak of serum cortisol in the early postoperative course with an increased probability of recurrence.

Conclusions Patients with a peak of serum cortisol in the early postoperative course show an increased recurrence rate. A cut-off value of serum cortisol for clear identification of patients with later recurrence could not be determined.

Update in Cushing disease: What the neurosurgeon has to KNOW, on behalf of the EANS skull base section

Introduction

Cushing's disease is a state of chronic and excessive cortisol levels caused by a pituitary adenoma

Research question

CD is a complex entity and often entails difficulties in its diagnosis and management. For that reason, there are still controversial points to that respect. The aim of this consensus paper of the skull base section of the EANS is to review the main aspects of the disease a neurosurgeon has to know and also to offer updated recommendations on the controversial aspects of its management.

Material and methods

PUBMED database was used to search the most pertinent articles published on the last 5 years related with the management of CD. A summary of literature evidence was proposed for discussion within the EANS skull base section and other international experts.

Results

This article represents the consensual opinion of the task force regarding optimal management and surgical strategy in CD

Discussion and conclusion

After discussion in the group several recommendations and suggestions were elaborated. Patients should be treated by an experienced multidisciplinary team. Accurate clinical, biochemical and radiological diagnosis is mandatory. The goal of treatment is the complete adenoma resection to achieve permanent remission. If this is not possible, the treatment aims to achieving eucortisolism. Radiation therapy is recommended to patients with CD when surgical options have been exhausted. All patients in remission should be tested all life-long.

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Modalities of management of Cushing disease and recommendations based on the literature and expert's opinion.

Evaluation of ketoconazole as a treatment for Cushing's disease in a retrospective cohort

OBJECTIVE

The first-line treatment for Cushing's disease is transsphenoidal surgery, after which the rates of remission are 60 to 80%, with long-term recurrence of 20 to 30%, even in those with real initial remission. Drug therapies are indicated for patients without initial remission or with surgical contraindications or recurrence, and ketoconazole is one of the main available therapies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety profile of and the treatment response to ketoconazole in Cushing's disease patients followed up at the endocrinology outpatient clinic of a Brazilian university hospital.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort of Cushing's disease patients with active hypercortisolism who used ketoconazole at any stage of follow-up. Patients who were followed up for less than 7 days, who did not adhere to treatment, or who were lost to follow-up were excluded.

RESULTS

Of the 172 Cushing's disease patients who were followed up between 2004 and 2020, 38 received ketoconazole. However, complete data was only available for 33 of these patients. Of these, 26 (78%) underwent transsphenoidal surgery prior to using ketoconazole, five of whom (15%) had also undergone radiotherapy; seven used ketoconazole as a primary treatment. Ketoconazole use ranged from 14 days to 14.5 years. A total of 22 patients had a complete response (66%), three patients had a partial response (9%), and eight patients had no response to treatment (24%), including those who underwent radiotherapy while using ketoconazole. Patients whose hypercortisolism was controlled or partially controlled with ketoconazole had lower baseline 24-h urinary free cortisol levels than the uncontrolled group [times above the upper limit of normal: 0.62 (SD, 0.41) vs. 5.3 (SD, 8.21); p < 0.005, respectively] in addition to more frequent previous transsphenoidal surgery (p < 0.04). The prevalence of uncontrolled patients remained stable over time (approximately 30%) despite ketoconazole dose adjustments or association with other drugs, which had no significant effect. One patient received adjuvant cabergoline from the beginning of the follow-up, and it was prescribed to nine others due to clinical non-response to ketoconazole alone. Ten patients (30%) reported mild adverse effects, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and loss of appetite. Only four patients had serious adverse effects that warranted discontinuation. There were 20 confirmed episodes of hypokalemia among 10/33 patients (30%).

CONCLUSION

Ketoconazole effectively controlled hypercortisolism in 66% of Cushing's disease patients, being a relatively safe drug for those without remission after transsphenoidal surgery or whose symptoms must be controlled until a new definitive therapy is carried out. Hypokalemia is a frequent metabolic effect not yet described in other series, which should be monitored during treatment.

Remission in Cushing's disease is predicted by cortisol burden and its withdrawal following pituitary surgery

AIM

To ascertain the predictors of remission and relapse in patients of Cushing's disease (CD) undergoing pituitary transsphenoidal surgery (TSS).

METHODS

Patients with CD subjected to TSS over 35 years at a tertiary care center were included. Patients were grouped into remission and persistent disease at 1 year after surgery, and were further followed up for relapse. Demographic, clinical, biochemical, histological, radiological and post-operative follow-up parameters were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of the 152 patients of CD, 145 underwent TSS. Remission was achieved in 95 (65.5%) patients at 1 year. Patients in remission had shorter duration of symptoms prior to presentation (p = 0.009), more frequent presence of proximal myopathy (p = 0.038) and a tumor size of < 2.05 cm (p = 0.016) in comparison to those with persistent disease. Post-TSS, immediate post-operative 0800-h cortisol (< 159.85 nmol/L; p = 0.001), histological confirmation of tumor (p = 0.045), duration of glucocorticoid replacement (median 90 days; p = 0.001), non-visualization of tumor on MRI (p = 0.003), new-onset hypogonadism (p = 0.001), 3-month 0800-h cortisol (< 384.9 nmol/L; p = 0.001), resolution of diabetes (p = 0.001) and hypertension (p = 0.001), and recovery of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (p = 0.018) favored remission. In logistic regression model, requirement of glucocorticoid replacement (p = 0.033), and resolution of hypertension post-TSS (p = 0.003) predicted remission. None of the parameters could predict relapse.

CONCLUSION

The study could ascertain the predictors of remission in CD. Apart from the tumor characteristics, surgical aspects and low post-operative 0800-h cortisol, the results suggest that baseline clinical parameters, longer glucocorticoid replacement, and resolution of metabolic complications post-TSS predict remission in CD. Long-term follow-up is essential to look for relapse.

Levoketoconazole: a novel treatment for endogenous Cushing's syndrome

Introduction: Endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS) is a rare, life-threatening endocrine disorder that is caused by chronic exposure to cortisol overproduction. Levoketoconazole (Recorlev), a 2S, 4R stereoisomer of ketoconazole, is a steroidogenesis inhibitor under investigation for the treatment of CS.Areas covered: This review covers the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of levoketoconazole for the treatment of patients with endogenous CS.Expert opinion: Based on the preclinical and clinical pharmacology findings, levoketoconazole appears to be the relevant enantiomer of ketoconazole for inhibition of steroidogenesis, with more potent inhibition of both cortisol and androgen synthesis relative to ketoconazole racemate and the 2R, 4S stereoisomer dextroketoconazole. Results from the phase III SONICS study showed that levoketoconazole was effective in normalizing cortisol levels and improving biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in a significant percentage of patients. In addition, treatment with levoketoconazole showed improvements in subjective clinical assessments of clinician-rated CS clinical signs and symptoms, patient-reported quality of life, and depression symptom severity. Testosterone levels decreased significantly in women. Levoketoconazole had an acceptable safety profile with no unexpected safety signals. The favorable pharmacology, efficacy, and safety profile of levoketoconazole supports its use as medical therapy for CS, if approved.

Corticotroph tumor progression after bilateral adrenalectomy (Nelson's syndrome): systematic review and expert consensus recommendations

BACKGROUND

Corticotroph tumor progression (CTP) leading to Nelson's syndrome (NS) is a severe and difficult-to-treat complication subsequent to bilateral adrenalectomy (BADX) for Cushing's disease. Its characteristics are not well described, and consensus recommendations for diagnosis and treatment are missing.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed focusing on clinical studies and case series (≥5 patients). Definition, cumulative incidence, treatment and long-term outcomes of CTP/NS after BADX were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results were presented and discussed at an interdisciplinary consensus workshop attended by international pituitary experts in Munich on October 28, 2018.

RESULTS

Data covered definition and cumulative incidence (34 studies, 1275 patients), surgical outcome (12 studies, 187 patients), outcome of radiation therapy (21 studies, 273 patients), and medical therapy (15 studies, 72 patients).

CONCLUSIONS

We endorse the definition of CTP-BADX/NS as radiological progression or new detection of a pituitary tumor on thin-section MRI. We recommend surveillance by MRI after 3 months and every 12 months for the first 3 years after BADX. Subsequently, we suggest clinical evaluation every 12 months and MRI at increasing intervals every 2-4 years (depending on ACTH and clinical parameters). We recommend pituitary surgery as first-line therapy in patients with CTP-BADX/NS. Surgery should be performed before extrasellar expansion of the tumor to obtain complete and long-term remission. Conventional radiotherapy or stereotactic radiosurgery should be utilized as second-line treatment for remnant tumor tissue showing extrasellar extension.

Development of Machine Learning Models for Predicting Postoperative Delayed Remission in Patients With Cushing's Disease

CONTEXT

Postoperative hypercortisolemia mandates further therapy in patients with Cushing's disease (CD). Delayed remission (DR) is defined as not achieving postoperative immediate remission (IR), but having spontaneous remission during long-term follow-up.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to develop and validate machine learning (ML) models for predicting DR in non-IR patients with CD.

METHODS

We enrolled 201 CD patients, and randomly divided them into training and test datasets. We then used the recursive feature elimination (RFE) algorithm to select features and applied 5 ML algorithms to construct DR prediction models. We used permutation importance and local interpretable model-agnostic explanation (LIME) algorithms to determine the importance of the selected features and interpret the ML models.

RESULTS

Eighty-eight (43.8%) of the 201 CD patients met the criteria for DR. Overall, patients who were younger, had a low body mass index, a Knosp grade of III-IV, and a tumor not found by pathological examination tended to achieve a lower rate of DR. After RFE feature selection, the Adaboost model, which comprised 18 features, had the greatest discriminatory ability, and its predictive ability was significantly better than using Knosp grading and postoperative immediate morning serum cortisol (PoC). The results obtained from permutation importance and LIME algorithms showed that preoperative 24-hour urine free cortisol, PoC, and age were the most important features, and showed the reliability and clinical practicability of the Adaboost model in DC prediction.

CONCLUSIONS

Machine learning-based models could serve as an effective noninvasive approach to predicting DR, and could aid in determining individual treatment and follow-up strategies for CD patients.

Updates in adrenal steroidogenesis inhibitors for Cushing's syndrome - A practical guide

Medical therapy is essential in the management of patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) when curative surgery has failed, surgery is not feasible, when awaiting radiation effect, and in recurrent cases of CS. Steroidogenesis inhibitors have a rapid onset of action and are effective in reducing hypercortisolism, however, adverse effects, including adrenal insufficiency require very close patient monitoring. Osilodrostat is the only steroidogenesis inhibitor to have been assessed in prospective randomized controlled trials and approved for Cushing's disease (CD) by the US Food and Drug Administration and for CS by the European Medical Agency (EMA). Osilodrostat has been shown to be highly effective at maintaining normal urinary free cortisol in patients with CD. Drugs such as metyrapone, ketoconazole (both EMA approved), and etomidate lack prospective evaluation(s). There is, however, considerable clinical experience and retrospective data that show a very wide efficacy range in treating patients with CS. In the absence of head-to-head comparative clinical trials, therapy choice is determined by the specific clinical setting, risk of adverse events, cost, availability, and other factors. In this review practical points to help clinicians who are managing patients with CS being treated with steroidogenesis inhibitors are presented.

Cushing's Disease as a Result of Two ACTH-Secreting Pituitary Tumors

Objective

Our objective is to present a case of Cushing’s disease (CD) with 2 adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary tumors. Multiple monohormonal pituitary tumors are rare. This case supports a consideration of repeat transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) in patients with initial surgical failure.

Methods

Salivary, 24-h urine, serum cortisol testing, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to diagnose CD. Treatment included TSS and postoperative hydrocortisone.

Results

A 36-year-old woman followed for hypothyroidism presented with a new left supraclavicular fossa swelling and underwent Cushing’s syndrome screening. The levels of late-night salivary cortisol were 0.636 and 0.316 μg/dL, 24-h urine cortisol was 162 μg/24 h, cortisol after 1-mg dexamethasone suppression was 14.0 μg/dL, and serum morning cortisol was 26.4 μg/dL with ACTH of 66.7 pg/mL. A 7-mm hypoenhancing anterior pituitary lesion was noted on pituitary MRI. The cortisol level was 2.7 μg/dL after an 8-mg dexamethasone suppression. She underwent TSS, and her histopathology read as pituitary adenoma staining positive for ACTH. No residual tumor was seen intraoperatively. Postoperative morning serum cortisol was 17.9 μg/dL, and ACTH level was 79 pg/mL. Repeat TSS revealed a second adenoma previously unseen on MRI, which also stained positive for ACTH. Postoperative morning cortisol was 0.7 μg/dL, and ACTH was <9 pg/mL. Hydrocortisone, which was started for her central adrenal insufficiency, was tapered and stopped 1 year postoperatively. Late-night salivary cortisol levels were 0.016 and 0.012 μg/dL.

Conclusion

We conclude that surgical failure in CD after initial TSS should warrant the consideration of a second ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma and possible repeat TSS.

Osilodrostat: A Novel Steroidogenesis Inhibitor to Treat Cushing’s Disease

Objective:

To review data on efficacy and safety of osilodrostat (Isturisa), a novel oral steroidogenesis inhibitor for treatment of Cushing’s disease (CD), a life-threatening endocrine disorder.

Data Sources:

A PubMed/CINAHL search from inception to September 25, 2020, was performed using the following keywords: osilodrostat, 11-beta hydroxylase, pituitary, ACTH hypersecretion, and Cushing’s disease.

Study Selection and Data Extraction:

Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials and supplementary documents investigating osilodrostat were obtained from a primary literature search, the manufacturer’s website, and the Food and Drug Administration website. These articles evaluated the clinical pharmacology, efficacy, safety, adverse events, warnings, and precautions for osilodrostat.

Data Synthesis:

Osilodrostat was efficacious and safe in the treatment of CD in mostly middle-aged Caucasian women. A pivotal phase 3 study revealed a significant difference in 24-hour mean urinary free cortisol (primary end point) between osilodrostat and placebo (86% vs 29%; P < 0.001).

Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice:

Osilodrostat provides a potent and consistent effect in reducing life-threatening supraphysiological levels of cortisol in patients with CD. Hypocortisolism adverse effects can be mitigated by slowly increasing osilodrostat’s dose at ≥2-week intervals. QT interval prolongation was noted; therefore, the QT interval must be monitored by the electrocardiogram. Increased levels of cortisol precursors during treatment with osilodrostat may increase the risk of hypokalemia, edema, and hypertension.

Conclusions:

Osilodrostat was efficacious in decreasing cortisol levels and safe in treating patients who have failed or are ineligible for pituitary surgery. Although risks exist, a pivotal clinical trial revealed efficacy in 86% of participants.

Recurrence after pituitary surgery in adult Cushing's disease: a systematic review on diagnosis and treatment

PURPOSE

Recurrence after pituitary surgery in Cushing's disease (CD) is a common problem ranging from 5% (minimum) to 50% (maximum) after initially successful surgery, respectively. In this review, we give an overview of the current literature regarding prevalence, diagnosis, and therapeutic options of recurrent CD.

METHODS

We systematically screened the literature regarding recurrent and persistent Cushing's disease using the MESH term Cushing's disease and recurrence. Of 717 results in PubMed, all manuscripts in English and German published between 1980 and April 2020 were screened. Case reports, comments, publications focusing on pediatric CD or CD in veterinary disciplines or studies with very small sample size (patient number < 10) were excluded. Also, papers on CD in pregnancy were not included in this review.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Because of the high incidence of recurrence in CD, annual clinical and biochemical follow-up is paramount. 50% of recurrences occur during the first 50 months after first surgery. In case of recurrence, treatment options include second surgery, pituitary radiation, targeted medical therapy to control hypercortisolism, and bilateral adrenalectomy. Success rates of all these treatment options vary between 25 (some of the medical therapy) and 100% (bilateral adrenalectomy). All treatment options have specific advantages, limitations, and side effects. Therefore, treatment decisions have to be individualized according to the specific needs of the patient.

Management of patients with persistent or recurrent Cushing's disease after initial pituitary surgery

INTRODUCTION

Treatment options for persistent and recurrent Cushing's disease (CD) include an individualized approach for repeat surgery, medical treatment, radiation therapy (RT), and bilateral adrenalectomy (BLA).

AREAS COVERED

In this expert opinion perspective, the authors review the latest treatment(s) for persistent/recurrent CD. A PubMed search was undertaken (English articles through May 2020) and relevant articles discussed. Repeat pituitary surgery should be considered in most patients with proven hypercortisolism; there is potential for cure with low risk of major complications. Medical therapy is valuable either alone, while awaiting the effects of RT, or in preparation for BLA. Medical therapy includes steroidogenesis inhibitors, agents that act at the pituitary or glucocorticoid receptor level, and novel agents in development. Radiation therapy has been used successfully to treat CD, but hypopituitarism risk and delayed efficacy (improved with radiosurgery) are major drawbacks. Laparoscopic BLA is safe and effective in patients with severe, difficult-to-manage hypercortisolism, but long-term follow-up is required as corticotroph tumor progression can develop.

EXPERT OPINION

Treatment of persistent/recurrent CD is challenging. Most patients require >1 therapy to achieve long-lasting remission. There is currently no ideal single treatment option that provides high and rapid efficacy, low adverse effects, and preserves normal pituitary-adrenal axis function.

Persistent Cushing's Disease after Transsphenoidal Surgery: Challenges and Solutions

Transsphenoidal surgery remains the primary treatment for Cushing's disease (CD). However, despite the vast improvements in pituitary surgery, successful treatment of CD remains a great challenge. Although selective transsphenoidal removal of the pituitary tumor is a safe and effective procedure, the disease persists in around 22% of CD patients due to incomplete tumor resection. The persistence of hypercortisolism after pituitary surgery may also be the consequence of a misdiagnosis, as can occur in case of ectopic ACTH secretion or pseudo-Cushing. Considering the elevated mortality and morbidity characterizing the disease, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to minimize potential pitfalls occurring during the diagnosis, avoid surgical failure and provide the best care in those patients who have undergone unsuccessful surgery. In this review, we analyze the factors that could predict remission or persistence of CD after pituitary surgery and revise the therapeutic options in case of surgical failure.

Cushing's Disease

In patients with Cushing's disease (CD), prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential for favorable long-term outcomes, although this remains a challenging task. The differential diagnosis of CD is still difficult in some patients, even with an organized stepwise diagnostic approach. Moreover, despite the use of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with advanced fine sequences, some tumors remain invisible. Surgery, using various surgical approaches for safe maximum tumor removal, still remains the first-line treatment for most patients with CD. Persistent or recurrent CD after unsuccessful surgery requires further treatment, including repeat surgery, medical therapy, radiotherapy, or sometimes, bilateral adrenalectomy. These treatments have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, the most important thing is that this complex disease should be managed by a multidisciplinary team with collaborating experts. In addition, a personalized and individual-based approach is paramount to achieve high success rates while minimizing the occurrence of adverse events and improving the patients' quality of life. Finally, the recent new insights into the pathophysiology of CD at the molecular level are highly anticipated to lead to the introduction of more accurate diagnostic tests and efficacious therapies for this devastating disease in the near future.