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Best Practice & Research. Clinical... Apr 2019Pituitary diseases are rare conditions with severe chronic multiorgan and multisystemic morbidity requiring complex multidisciplinary treatment and usually life-long... (Review)
Review
Pituitary diseases are rare conditions with severe chronic multiorgan and multisystemic morbidity requiring complex multidisciplinary treatment and usually life-long drug treatment. Most cases are caused by functioning or non-functioning pituitary adenoma. From the patient's perspective, the burden of disease is caused by the tumour itself and associated compression symptoms, interventions, hormone excess and deficiencies, systemic manifestations of these endocrine abnormalities and general psychosocial issues that can manifest in patients with a chronic condition. In this review, patient burden is classified according to classic endocrine syndromes, with burden at diagnosis and after long-term remission, and also within the framework of value-based health care and the conceptual model of wellbeing. The recently developed patient-reported outcome measurement tool that helps to evaluate burden of patients is also discussed.
Topics: Acromegaly; Adenoma; Cost of Illness; Humans; Pituitary Neoplasms; Quality of Life
PubMed: 31405752
DOI: 10.1016/j.beem.2019.101309 -
Reviews in Endocrine & Metabolic... Jun 2020Surgery of aggressive pituitary adenomas and pituitary carcinomas is part of the interdisciplinary management of these difficult to treat tumors. Invasion, giant size... (Review)
Review
Surgery of aggressive pituitary adenomas and pituitary carcinomas is part of the interdisciplinary management of these difficult to treat tumors. Invasion, giant size and unusual, asymmetric extent of these tumors frequently require modifications or extensions of the standard approaches for transsphenoidal and transcranial surgery. Frequently, only debulking procedures can be performed. In aggressive and hormone secreting adenomas, the remission rates achieved by surgery alone are relatively poor and adjuvant medical treatments or irradiation are needed. Safe resection of as much tumor as possible and symptomatic control is aimed at, rather than remission. Many procedures are required for rapid progression of lesions or recurrences, in order to extend the survival of the patients. Metastases of pituitary carcinomas within the cranial cavity or spine can be attacked. Since they can occur anywhere in the brain or spinal canal they require the entire battery of neurosurgical approaches. Unfortunately, in this group of pituitary tumors, the complication rates are higher than in primary operations of enclosed adenomas. The respective techniques with their facilities and limitations are reviewed in this article.
Topics: Adenoma; Carcinoma; Humans; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Pituitary Neoplasms
PubMed: 32500483
DOI: 10.1007/s11154-020-09563-8 -
Neuroendocrinology 2019Clinically relevant pituitary adenomas are present in about 1 per 1,000 of the general population and prolactinomas are by far the most common clinical subtype of... (Review)
Review
Clinically relevant pituitary adenomas are present in about 1 per 1,000 of the general population and prolactinomas are by far the most common clinical subtype of pituitary adenomas. Usually prolactinomas affect premenopausal women and present with typical symptoms of menstrual disturbance and/or galactorrhea. They are generally managed with dopamine agonists to restore fertility and to control symptoms and tumor size. In a subset of prolactinomas, however, management remains challenging. Studies in recent years have identified the factors related to dopamine agonist resistance, such as male sex, genetic features, and aggressive tumor behavior. Certain other patient groups represent particular challenges for management, such as pediatric patients and pregnant women. Treatment with dopamine agonists is usually safe and effective, and adverse effects such as clinically relevant cardiac valvular complications and impulse control disorders may occur in isolated instances. A number of important disease characteristics of prolactinomas remain to be explained, such as the difference in sex prevalence before and after menopause, the higher prevalence of macroadenomas in older males, and the biochemical mechanisms of resistance to dopaminergic agonists.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Pituitary Neoplasms; Prolactinoma
PubMed: 30731464
DOI: 10.1159/000497746 -
Minerva Endocrinologica Sep 2016Prolactinomas are pituitary tumors that originate from the adenohypophysis lactotroph cells. These tumors constitute one third of all pituitary adenomas, making them the... (Review)
Review
Prolactinomas are pituitary tumors that originate from the adenohypophysis lactotroph cells. These tumors constitute one third of all pituitary adenomas, making them the most common functional pituitary neoplasms. The signs and symptoms of patients harboring prolactin (PRL) secreting tumors may derive from hyperprolactinemia itself, as well as from direct pressure of the expanding mass on the normal pituitary gland and other surrounding tissues, in cases of invasive tumors. This review will focus on practical aspects of the medical treatment of patients with prolactinomas, and on the main differences between the treatment strategy of micro- and macroprolactinomas. Medical therapy with dopamine agonists (DA) is the preferred treatment for the vast majority of patients harboring prolactinomas. Cabergoline (CAB) is the main agent used for treating prolactinomas, achieving normoprolactinemia in 80-100% of patients with microprolactinomas, and in 75-95% of those with macroprolactinomas. Second line therapies include surgery and radiation therapy, and are indicated only in rare cases, such as patients intolerant to, or with contraindication for DAs, or patients harboring malignant or DA resistant tumors. The management principles of pregnant women with prolactinomas and of patients with suspected malignant prolactinoma are distinct from other patient populations, and are discussed separately in our review.
Topics: Dopamine Agonists; Female; Humans; Pituitary Neoplasms; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic; Prolactinoma
PubMed: 26399371
DOI: No ID Found -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2020
Topics: Adenoma; Biomarkers, Tumor; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Gene Regulatory Networks; Humans; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Pituitary Neoplasms; Precision Medicine; Protein Interaction Maps; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 32132975
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00026 -
Revista de Investigacion Clinica;... 2020The pituitary gland is responsible for the synthesis and secretion of various hormones that play a key role in regulating endocrine function and homeostasis. Pituitary... (Review)
Review
The pituitary gland is responsible for the synthesis and secretion of various hormones that play a key role in regulating endocrine function and homeostasis. Pituitary adenomas (PA) are benign epithelial tumors arising from the endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary gland. Clinically relevant PA are relatively common and they occur in 0.1% of the general population. They are mostly benign monoclonal neoplasms that arise from any of the five hormone-secreting cell types of the anterior pituitary gland. PA are categorized as either functioning or non-functioning, depending on whether or not they produce a hormonal hypersecretion syndrome. Both functioning and non-functioning adenomas can produce symptoms or signs resulting from compression of the optic chiasm or invasion of cavernous sinuses. Only 5% of PA occur within the context of hereditary syndromes with reasonably well-defined oncogenic mechanisms. The vast majority of PA are sporadic, and their etiopathogenesis remains largely unknown. Pituitary tumor oncogenesis involves several mechanisms that eventually lead to abnormal cell proliferation and dysregulated hormone production. Among these factors, we found inactivating mutations of tumor suppressor genes, activating mutation of oncogenes and the participation of hormonal signals coming from the hypothalamus, all resulting in cell-cycle regulation abnormalities. In this review, we summarize the clinical and pathophysiological aspects of the different hereditary pituitary tumor syndromes.
Topics: Adenoma; Animals; Humans; Mutation; Pituitary Gland; Pituitary Neoplasms; Syndrome
PubMed: 32132734
DOI: 10.24875/RIC.19003186 -
Disease Markers 2021Pituitary tumors are the third most common intracranial tumors in adults. Treatment of refractory pituitary tumors is known to be difficult due to limited treatment... (Review)
Review
Pituitary tumors are the third most common intracranial tumors in adults. Treatment of refractory pituitary tumors is known to be difficult due to limited treatment options. As a promising therapeutic method, tumor immunotherapy has been applied in the treatment of many tumors, including pituitary tumors. Immune checkpoint blocking is one of the effective strategies to activate antitumor immunity. Immune checkpoints prevent tissue damage by regulating the immune response of peripheral tissues and participate in the maintenance of a normal immune environment. In the presence of a tumor, inhibition of T cell activity by tumor cells binding to immune checkpoints and their ligands is an important mechanism for tumor cells to escape immune injury. In this review, we summarize the latest findings of immune checkpoints and their potential as immunotherapeutic targets for pituitary tumors.
Topics: Humans; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Immune Checkpoint Proteins; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Pituitary Neoplasms; Prognosis
PubMed: 34447484
DOI: 10.1155/2021/5300381 -
The New England Journal of Medicine Jun 2017
Topics: Adenoma; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Nystagmus, Pathologic; Pituitary Neoplasms
PubMed: 28614692
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMicm1613244 -
Reviews in Endocrine & Metabolic... Jun 2020Pituitary tumors are not rare if prevalence rates from autopsy or radiological series are considered; approximately 0.5% of all pituitary adenomas will come to medical... (Review)
Review
Pituitary tumors are not rare if prevalence rates from autopsy or radiological series are considered; approximately 0.5% of all pituitary adenomas will come to medical attention. Less than 0.1% of these pituitary adenomas will become malignant, and probably around 0.5% of all detected adenomas will display an aggressive course. However, the exact incidence of both aggressive pituitary adenomas and pituitary carcinomas is unknown, as most data come from series with selected patients, such as surgically treated patients, which is likely not a reflection of all patients with a pituitary adenoma. An aggressive pituitary adenoma is not well-defined; even though an overarching definition, capturing both immunohistochemical and clinical characteristics is probably not waterproof, adoption of a widely accepted definition will be very helpful to harmonize research and establish more reliable epidemiological data.
Topics: Adenoma; Humans; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Pituitary Neoplasms
PubMed: 32361816
DOI: 10.1007/s11154-020-09556-7 -
Pituitary Apr 2018Non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumors do not cause endocrine symptoms related to hypersecretion of adenohypophyseal hormones and are clinically characterized... (Review)
Review
Non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumors do not cause endocrine symptoms related to hypersecretion of adenohypophyseal hormones and are clinically characterized by symptoms due to growing sellar tumor mass. Histopathological classification of this tumor group has always been challenging due to their heterogeneity, limited knowledge on their biology, and diverse methodological problems. We have searched PubMed database for data related to the histopathological classification of non-functioning pituitary tumors and methods for its application. Principles of the classification and grading presented in the recently released 4th edition of the World Health Organization classification of endocrine tumors have been summarized. Based on the expression of anterior pituitary hormones and pituitary specific transcription factors, gonadotroph tumors dominate within the group of clinically non-functioning tumors, followed by corticotroph type; however, other less common types of the non-functioning tumors can be identified. Assessment of tumor cell proliferation is important to identify "high-risk adenomas." A few subtypes of non-functioning tumors belong to the category of potentially aggressive tumors, independent of the cell proliferation rate. Here, we present up to date criteria for the classification of clinically non-functioning pituitary tumors, offer a diagnostic approach for the routine clinical use, and emphasize a need for inclusion of prognostic and predictive markers in the classification.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Neuroendocrine Tumors; Pituitary Neoplasms; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 29275530
DOI: 10.1007/s11102-017-0855-1