Aromatase inhibitors, GnRH analogues and growth hormone for short stature with advanced bone age in…

ReviewEndocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists· Aug 2026

Aromatase inhibitors, GnRH analogues and growth hormone for short stature with advanced bone age in adolescent boys: a Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Deep Dutta, Kunal Mahajan, Ashima Mittal … Abm Kamrul-Hasan

Read paper

Pediatric Endocrinology & GrowthReviewQ1IF 3.5

Aromatase inhibitor plus growth hormone linked to greater predicted height gain than growth hormone alone

Aromatase inhibitors, GnRH analogues and growth hormone for short stature with advanced bone age in adolescent boys: a Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Deep Dutta … Abm Kamrul-Hasan

Endocrine practice · Aug 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Background

Adolescent boys presenting late with short stature and advanced bone age (BA/CA >1) have guarded height outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a PROSPERO-registered systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis, reported per PRISMA-NMA, with a pre-specified letrozole-versus-anastrozole sensitivity analysis; certainty was rated using CINeMA.

n = 651 boys

Results

Aromatase inhibitors plus growth hormone added nearly 3.6 cm to predicted adult height versus growth hormone alone

MD 3.58 (95% CI 1.83 to 5.14)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Aromatase inhibitors+growth hormone also ranked highest for height standard deviation score for chronological age and ΔBA/ΔCA and tied with GnRHa+growth hormone for height standard deviation score for bone age.

GnRHa+growth hormone ranked second but did not differ from growth hormone.

More results

Hyperuricemia was more frequent with aromatase inhibitors+growth hormone (47%) than with growth hormone or GnRHa+growth hormone (0%).

CINeMA certainty was very low across comparisons.

“

Conclusion

DISCUSSION: In adolescent boys with advanced bone age, aromatase inhibitors+growth hormone was the highest-ranked strategy for improving predicted and final adult height, ahead of GnRHa+growth hormone and monotherapy, although very low-certainty evidence warrants confirmatory trials.

Aromatase inhibitors, GnRH analogues and growth hormone for short stature with advanced bone age in adolescent boys: a Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Aromatase inhibitors, GnRH analogues and growth hormone for short stature with advanced bone age in adolescent boys: a Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Related papers