Thursday, October 23, 2014

My IGF-1 (Somatomedin-C) Levels

My pituitary tumor is considered a plurihormonal adenoma which means it excretes more than one hormone: prolactin and growth hormone. Pathology reports confirmed this in two surgeries.


 Click on the graph to enlarge
 
Please note what is considered a normal range for IGF-1 can differ among labs and depends on age. There are many variations on what is considered "normal". My most recent result is 74. The lab work processed by the Mayo clinic through MD Anderson Cancer Center says the standard range for my age (42 yrs) is 62-205 ng/mL. Last year MD Anderson's range was 106-277. It is likely that the downward trend in my recent results is due to radiotherapy treatment.



Click on the graph to enlarge

I haven't taken any medication to control excess hormone excretion. My tumor is deemed "partially functioning" which means it excretes excess hormone sporadically. After surgery in 2005, my hormone levels consistently stayed within normal range despite continued enlargement of my tumor and invasion into both cavernous sinuses and clivus. If doctors looked for residual adenoma solely on the basis of my lab results, they wouldn't find it. Interestingly, this past year my prolactin levels have increased, but MRI images show my tumor as stable and/or possibly shrinking.