Acromegalic Uteropathy: Specific Uterine Ultrasound Findings in Female Patients

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Acromegaly is a systemic connective tissue disease driven by chronic growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) excess; yet, the female reproductive tract-especially the extracellular matrix (ECM)-rich cervix-has been poorly studied. We aimed to compare uterine and cervical morphology in women with acromegaly versus healthy controls and a gynecologic disease comparator, testing the hypothesis of selective cervical hypertrophy. <b>Methods:</b> We performed a retrospective case-control study of reproductive-age women who underwent pelvic ultrasound: acromegaly (<i>n</i> = 33), healthy controls (<i>n</i> = 45), and adenomyosis without acromegaly (<i>n</i> = 44). Uterine body measurements were obtained by TAUS/TVUS; cervical biometry was performed transvaginally in all cases. Volumes were estimated using the ellipsoid formula, and a uterus-to-cervix (U:C) volume ratio was calculated. Group differences were analyzed with Mann-Whitney tests and Bonferroni correction. <b>Results:</b> A total of 122 women were included. Uterine body length, width, AP size, and volume did not differ between acromegaly and either comparison group (all p-values non-significant). In contrast, cervical length, width, AP thickness, and volume were significantly higher in acromegaly than in healthy controls, with a corresponding reduction in the U:C volume ratio, indicating disproportionate cervical enlargement. Compared with adenomyosis, women with acromegaly again showed larger cervical width, AP thickness, and volume, together with altered U:C indices, whereas cervical length did not differ, suggesting a pattern not explained by nonspecific pelvic pathology. <b>Conclusions:</b> Women with acromegaly demonstrate a distinct uterine phenotype characterized by selective cervical hypertrophy with preserved uterine corpus size-an ECM-centric "acromegalic uteropathy." This noninvasive morphometric signature may have diagnostic and procedural relevance and warrants confirmation in prospective studies.

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Journal
Diagnostics
Published
2026-03-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060956
Primary Topic
Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
Type
article
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article

Acromegalic Uteropathy: Specific Uterine Ultrasound Findings in Female Patients

U. S. Stanojević, Ekaterina Pigarova, Larisa Dzeranova, Natalya G. Mokrysheva et al.
Diagnostics
Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
article

Acromegalic Uteropathy: Specific Uterine Ultrasound Findings in Female Patients

U. S. Stanojević, Ekaterina Pigarova, Larisa Dzeranova, Natalya G. Mokrysheva, Galina Afanas'evna Melnichenko, Ekaterina Grezina, Yulia Fedorova, Irina Stanoevich, Andrey Belov, Aurika Asanova, Svetlana Vorotnikova
article en

Abstract

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Acromegaly is a systemic connective tissue disease driven by chronic growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) excess; yet, the female reproductive tract-especially the extracellular matrix (ECM)-rich cervix-has been poorly studied. We aimed to compare uterine and cervical morphology in women with acromegaly versus healthy controls and a gynecologic disease comparator, testing the hypothesis of selective cervical hypertrophy. <b>Methods:</b> We performed a retrospective case-control study of reproductive-age women who underwent pelvic ultrasound: acromegaly (<i>n</i> = 33), healthy controls (<i>n</i> = 45), and adenomyosis without acromegaly (<i>n</i> = 44). Uterine body measurements were obtained by TAUS/TVUS; cervical biometry was performed transvaginally in all cases. Volumes were estimated using the ellipsoid formula, and a uterus-to-cervix (U:C) volume ratio was calculated. Group differences were analyzed with Mann-Whitney tests and Bonferroni correction. <b>Results:</b> A total of 122 women were included. Uterine body length, width, AP size, and volume did not differ between acromegaly and either comparison group (all p-values non-significant). In contrast, cervical length, width, AP thickness, and volume were significantly higher in acromegaly than in healthy controls, with a corresponding reduction in the U:C volume ratio, indicating disproportionate cervical enlargement. Compared with adenomyosis, women with acromegaly again showed larger cervical width, AP thickness, and volume, together with altered U:C indices, whereas cervical length did not differ, suggesting a pattern not explained by nonspecific pelvic pathology. <b>Conclusions:</b> Women with acromegaly demonstrate a distinct uterine phenotype characterized by selective cervical hypertrophy with preserved uterine corpus size-an ECM-centric "acromegalic uteropathy." This noninvasive morphometric signature may have diagnostic and procedural relevance and warrants confirmation in prospective studies.

DiagnosticsVol. 16(6)
Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (RU), Kursk Regional Clinical Oncology Center (RU), Research Center of Neurology (RU)
Good health and well-being, Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
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