Young women with polycystic liver disease respond best to somatostatin analogues: A pooled analysis of individual patient data

Background & Aims Clinical trials have shown that in patients with polycystic liver disease (PLD), short-term treatment with somatostatin analogues (SAs) reduces liver volumes by 4.5%-5.9%, compared with placebo. However, the effects of SA therapy vary among individuals. We collected data from individual patients with PLD to identify subgroups that benefit most from SA therapy. Methods We analyzed data from 107 patients with PLD from 3 randomized placebo-controlled trials (67 received SAs, 52 received placebo). We used multiple linear regression analysis to determine the effects of SAs based on patients' age, sex, baseline liver volume, and diagnosis (autosomal dominant polycystic liver or kidney disease). The primary outcome was change in liver volume after 6-12 months of treatment. Results The effects of SA therapy did not differ significantly among patients with different diagnoses or baseline liver volumes; the overall difference in liver volume between groups receiving SAs therapy vs placebo was 5.3% (P