Mortality in patients with Cushing's disease more than 10 years after remission: a multicentre, multinational, retrospective cohort study

Study found that patients with Cushing's disease who have been in remission for >10 years are at increased risk of overall mortality vs. general population, particularly from circulatory disease. However, median survival from cure is excellent at about 40 years of remission.

The findings also suggest that treatment complexity and an increased number of treatments, reflecting disease that is more difficult to control, appears to negatively affect survival. The researchers note that pituitary surgery alone is the preferred treatment to secure an optimum outcome, and should be done in a centre of surgical excellence.

According to a commentary, a surgical approach is not a treatment option for some patients, either because of contraindications or because of an absence of clear indication for surgery. It calls for further studies on a larger number of cured patients, and a detailed subanalysis aimed at comparing mortality outcomes of pituitary surgery versus different treatments, to better understand whether one treatment has a better effect on mortality than another.