UPMC Multidisciplinary Adrenal Program Team Launches Clinical Trial Combining Adrenalectomy and GLP-1 Therapy
July 22, 2026
The UPMC Multidisciplinary Adrenal Program has started a clinical trial examining whether combining adrenalectomy with GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy improves long-term outcomes in patients with cortisol-producing adrenal tumors. The study, “Tirzepatide Following Adrenalectomy in Mild Autonomous Cortisol Secretion” started enrolling participants in July 2026.
Alaa Sada, MD, MS, FACS, assistant professor, Department of Surgery is the study’s principal investigator. Divya Sistla, MD, FACP, clinical assistant professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, is a co-investigator.
The clinical rationale draws on a known pattern. Adrenalectomy for cortisol-producing tumors generally improves the metabolic consequences of cortisol excess, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and obesity. The magnitude of improvement varies substantially between patients, and the variation is the question the trial is designed to address.
"Some patients lose substantial weight after surgery, their diabetes resolves, and the metabolic picture transforms," Dr. Sada says. "Other patients see only modest improvement, because their metabolic disease is multifactorial and cortisol was one driver among several. The question our trial is designed to answer is whether combining surgery with GLP-1 therapy produces better long-term outcomes than surgery alone."
The prospective, randomized study will enroll adults 18 years and older with mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) and hypertension who are planning to undergo unilateral adrenalectomy. Following surgery, participants will be randomized to receive either standard postoperative care alone or postoperative tirzepatide therapy for 12 months, allowing the team to compare outcomes between surgery alone and surgery combined with GLP-1 therapy.
The primary endpoint is blood pressure control at 12 months. Additional outcomes include changes in body weight, body mass index, glycemic control, medication burden, and patient-reported quality of life. The findings will help determine whether patients with MACS derive additional metabolic benefit from continuing GLP-1 therapy after adrenalectomy.
"The patients who do well after surgery and the patients who improve only modestly look similar before adrenalectomy in many ways," Dr. Sistla says. "Understanding why they diverge afterward is a clinical question the medical and surgical teams have been asking each other for a long time. This trial is one way of helping to answer that question.”
Recent Recognition for the Study
This trial was recognized at the AAES 2026 Annual Meeting by receiving the Paul LoGerfo Research Award.
More Information
The study is currently enrolling participants. For more information about the clinical trial, please call the study team at 412-647-0467 or visit: https://pittplusme.org/study/macs. You can also read the entire study protocol at ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07573163.
