What Is Acromegaly?
Published on April 17, 2026
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Acromegaly, a rare hormonal disorder, causes your brain’s pituitary gland to make too much growth hormone. High levels of this hormone can lead to excess growth that changes the way you look and can cause medical complications.
Changes caused by acromegaly happen slowly, and the condition gets diagnosed most often in middle age. Before puberty, your bones’ growth plates haven’t fused yet, so too much growth hormone can cause extreme height — a separate diagnosis called gigantism.
Untreated, acromegaly can cause life-threatening health problems, and not all cases can be cured. But treatment with surgery, medications, and radiation may prevent complications and improve your quality of life.
Signs and Symptoms of Acromegaly
Excess growth hormone in acromegaly can cause tissues throughout your body to get bigger. But not everyone experiences all acromegaly symptoms. You may first notice subtle signs like tight shoes or rings.
Acromegaly symptoms include:
- Enlarged hands, feet, lips, nose, and tongue
- More pronounced lower jaw and brow
- Wider rib cage
- Thickened, oily, and coarse skin
- Larger space between teeth
- Increased sweating and body odor
- Deeper voice
- Small skin growths (skin tags)
- Head and joint pain
- Vision changes
- Acne
Causes and Risk Factors of Acromegaly
Most often, a noncancerous tumor in your pituitary gland causes acromegaly. This tumor, called an adenoma, stimulates the production of extra growth hormone.
When too much growth hormone gets released, your liver makes more of another hormone called insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). This second hormone makes your bones and tissues grow, but also changes how you process sugar, increasing your risk for diabetes and heart problems.
Tumors in other places, including your lung or pancreas, can also cause acromegaly, but this is more rare. Experts don’t know why these tumors grow, but some genetic factors may increase your risk.
The most common condition linked with acromegaly is called multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1 (MEN1), which is rare in the general population. Other, even less common genetic conditions like familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) can also increase your risk.
How Is Acromegaly Diagnosed?
Doctors diagnose acromegaly through blood and imaging tests. An IGF blood test can show how much growth hormone you have in your blood, and high levels point to acromegaly.
For another common blood test called an oral glucose tolerance test, you drink a sugary liquid. Then, your growth hormone levels are checked every couple of hours to see if they respond normally to the sugar. Growth hormone should fall as your blood sugar rises, and if it doesn’t, that can help your doctor diagnose you.
Imaging tests like MRIs and CT scans allow your doctor to find and measure the tumor that’s driving production of extra growth hormone. To measure bone size, you may also get an X-ray.
Treatment and Medication Options for Acromegaly
Acromegaly treatment can involve medication, surgery, and radiation therapy to stop your tumor from growing, manage growth hormone levels, decrease symptoms, and prevent complications.
Surgery
Surgery can remove the tumor responsible for extra growth hormone production, and is often the first recommended treatment option. Even if your surgeon can’t remove the entire tumor, decreasing its size can make medical therapies more effective.
Medication Options
Acromegaly medications work by lowering your growth hormone levels or blocking their actions. They include:
Somatostatin Analogs
- octreotide (Mycapssa, Sandostatin)
- lanreotide (Somatuline Depot)
- paltusotine (Palsonify)
- pasireotide (Signifor)
Dopamine Agonists
- cabergoline (Dostinex)
- bromocriptine (Parlodel)
Growth Hormone Receptor Antagonist
- pegvisomant (Somavert)
Radiation
If you can’t have surgery, or some of the tumor remains afterward, your doctor may recommend radiation therapy. This treatment involves targeted high-energy X-rays that kill tumor cells and can be a good option if other treatments aren’t working well enough.
Acromegaly Prognosis
When you have acromegaly, your prognosis depends on the tumor size and how early you get diagnosed. For example, removing a small tumor can provide a cure, while a larger tumor may be harder to take out completely. Medication and radiation therapy can keep your growth hormone levels down and lower your risk of complications.
Experts have classified acromegaly into three types to predict your outlook:
- Type 1 offers the best prognosis, and typically gets assigned to older people who have fewer symptoms and lower IGF-1 levels.
- Type 2 describes a prognosis between types 1 and 3, with higher IGF-1 levels.
- Type 3 is the worst prognosis, and people who get diagnosed at a young age, have severe symptoms, or have high IGF-1 levels may be in this category.
Even when treatments work well, the parts of your body that have already had unusual growth may not return to their prior size. It’s also important to have regular screenings to check for signs that any remaining tumor is getting larger.
If you can keep growth hormone levels down, you may have the same life expectancy as someone without acromegaly.
Complications of Acromegaly
If you have acromegaly and don’t get treatment, you could develop many different health complications. These include:
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- High cholesterol
- Heart disease
- Heart failure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Sleep apnea
- Arthritis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Colon polyps
- Breast, prostate, colon, thyroid, and stomach cancers
- Period changes and unexpected vaginal bleeding
- Erectile dysfunction
- Infertility
- Depression
Medications for acromegaly can also cause some uncomfortable side effects like abdominal cramps, diarrhea, hair loss, gallstones, fatigue, dizziness, and liver problems. If you experience any of these, let your doctor know. They can help you manage and prevent side effects and complications.
Support for People With Acromegaly
This international network provides emotional support for people with acromegaly and their loved ones. They offer resources to help you understand your diagnosis and treatment, online support groups, and financial assistance.
The Takeaway
- Acromegaly is a rare condition that causes the pituitary gland in your brain to prompt too much growth hormone production.
- Excess tissue and bone growth in acromegaly can cause enlarged features, thickened skin, gaps between teeth, headaches, joint pain, and vision changes.
- Treatment for acromegaly includes surgery, medications, and radiation therapy.
- Untreated acromegaly can cause complications like heart conditions, diabetes, and cancer, but with treatment, you can avoid worsening symptoms and enjoy a long life.
FAQ
Is there any cure for acromegaly?
Acromegaly caused by small pituitary tumors can be cured with surgery. Although larger tumors or other types may not be curable, treatment can reduce symptoms and prevent complications.
What is the main cause of acromegaly?
The most common cause of acromegaly is a tumor in the pituitary gland, which drives production of excess growth hormone.
What does a person with acromegaly look like?
If you have acromegaly, you may have a pronounced lower jaw and brow line, spaces between your teeth, thickened skin, a wide rib cage, and larger lips, feet, and nose. But symptoms vary, and you may notice only a few of these appearance changes.
What is the life expectancy of someone with acromegaly?
Your lifespan with acromegaly can be just as long as someone without the condition, especially with treatment. If you don’t get treatment and develop conditions like heart disease or type 2 diabetes, your life expectancy can decrease by about 10 years.
Resources We Trust
- Mayo Clinic: Acromegaly
- Cleveland Clinic: Acromegaly
- Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center: Acromegaly
- National Organization for Rare Disorders: Acromegaly
- Endocrine Society: Acromegaly
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Adigun OO et al. Acromegaly. StatPearls. February 2, 2023.
- Acromegaly. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. January 2020.
- Acromegaly. Mayo Clinic. October 22, 2025.
- Acromegaly. Cleveland Clinic. June 20, 2022.
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Sandy Bassin, MD
Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Sandy Bassin, MD, is an endocrinology fellow at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is passionate about incorporating lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition into endocrinology,...
Abby McCoy, RN
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Abby McCoy is an experienced registered nurse who has worked with adults and pediatric patients encompassing trauma, orthopedics, home care, transplant, and case management. She is...