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Oncology Letters Nov 2016Pituicytoma is a rare tumor of the sellar and suprasellar regions, arising from the pituicytes, which are specialized glial cells in the neurohypophysis and...
Pituicytoma is a rare tumor of the sellar and suprasellar regions, arising from the pituicytes, which are specialized glial cells in the neurohypophysis and infundibulum. Due to its rarity, ambiguity persists over the diagnosis, management and prognosis of pituicytoma. The current study presents a case series of three patients, each with a histopathological diagnosis of pituicytoma. A summary of the clinical manifestations, radiological characteristics, histopathological features, treatment strategies and prognoses are presented. In addition, 78 cases of pituicytoma, identified in a search of the published literature in Pubmed, are profiled. Pituicytoma typically presents with dysfunction of the optic nerve and pituitary. The radiological characteristics are nonspecific; diagnosis is typically made on the basis of histopathological results. The tumor is slow growing and benign and is amenable to surgical treatment by gross total resection; subsequent tumor recurrence is rare. A definitive assessment of prognosis requires an extended follow-up in a larger cohort.
PubMed: 27900014
DOI: 10.3892/ol.2016.5119 -
Chinese Medical Journal Aug 2016
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuroimaging; Pituitary Neoplasms
PubMed: 27453239
DOI: 10.4103/0366-6999.186644 -
Toxicologic Pathology Jun 2016The 2015 Annual National Toxicology Program Satellite Symposium, entitled "Pathology Potpourri" was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the American College of Veterinary...
The 2015 Annual National Toxicology Program Satellite Symposium, entitled "Pathology Potpourri" was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the American College of Veterinary Pathologists/American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology/Society of Toxicologic Pathology combined meeting. The goal of this symposium is to present and discuss diagnostic pathology challenges or nomenclature issues. Because of the combined meeting, both laboratory and domestic animal cases were presented. This article presents summaries of the speakers' talks, including challenging diagnostic cases or nomenclature issues that were presented, along with select images that were used for audience voting and discussion. Some lesions and topics covered during the symposium included hepatocellular lesions, a proposed harmonized diagnostic approach to rat cardiomyopathy, crop milk in a bird, avian feeding accoutrement, heat exchanger in a tuna, metastasis of a tobacco carcinogen-induced pulmonary carcinoma, neurocytoma in a rat, pituicytoma in a rat, rodent mammary gland whole mounts, dog and rat alveolar macrophage ultrastructure, dog and rat pulmonary phospholipidosis, alveolar macrophage aggregation in a dog, degenerating yeast in a cat liver aspirate, myeloid leukemia in lymph node aspirates from a dog, Trypanosoma cruzi in a dog, solanum toxicity in a cow, bovine astrovirus, malignant microglial tumor, and nomenclature challenges from the Special Senses International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria Organ Working Group.
Topics: Animals; Toxicology; Veterinary Medicine
PubMed: 27075180
DOI: 10.1177/0192623316631844 -
Medicine Mar 2016Pituicytoma is a rare, low-grade glial neoplasm that arises in the neurohypophysis or infundibulum and usually presents as pituitary gland enlargement. They are often... (Review)
Review
Pituicytoma is a rare, low-grade glial neoplasm that arises in the neurohypophysis or infundibulum and usually presents as pituitary gland enlargement. They are often misdiagnosed as pituitary adenomas. Causes have varied for high serum adrenocorticotropic hormone level reported in a few patients with pituicytoma.We report a rare case of pituicytoma accompanied by corticotroph hyperplasia-a challenging diagnosis guided by clinical presentations, radiological signs, and biopsy.We present a case of pituicytoma with corticotroph hyperplasia in a 46-year-old woman with typical Cushing syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion in the sellar area with equal T1 and T2 signals and marked homogeneous enhancement. We present detailed analysis of the patient's disease course and review pertinent literature. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor of this journal. Because of this, there is no need to conduct special ethic review and the ethical approval is not necessary.The patient underwent a surgical exploration and tumor resection through a trans-sphenoidal approach. Pathologic results revealed pituicytoma and corticotroph hyperplasia. As adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol levels did not decrease to normal, the patient received radiotherapy and recovered uneventfully. No recurrence was found over 8 years of follow-up.Pituicytoma is a rare type of sellar tumor. Pituicytomas in patients with Cushing syndrome are rarer still. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Cushing syndrome caused by corticotroph hyperplasia in a pituicytoma patient.
Topics: Corticotrophs; Diagnosis, Differential; Disease Progression; Female; Glioma; Humans; Hyperplasia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Middle Aged; Pituitary Neoplasms
PubMed: 26962837
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000003062 -
Journal of Toxicologic Pathology Jul 2015Pituicytoma is an extremely rare neoplasm derived from pituicytes, which are glial cells in the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. A malignant pituicytoma was found...
Pituicytoma is an extremely rare neoplasm derived from pituicytes, which are glial cells in the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. A malignant pituicytoma was found in the intracranial cavity of a 55-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rat. Macroscopically, the tumor was located on the sphenoid bone and involved the pituitary gland. The tumor was composed of sheets of fusiform cells with spindle- or pleomorphic-shaped nuclei and abundant eosinophilic cytoplasms. The cells were arranged in a whirling or irregular growth pattern. Some tumor cells were bizarre multinucleated giant cells with cytoplasmic eosinophilic hyaline droplets. Many tumor cells were strongly positive for vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein, and some cells were positive for ED-1 and S-100. These findings closely resembled those of a giant cell glioblastoma derived from the pituitary gland, suggesting anaplastic pituicytoma. From our review of the literature, we believe this is the first report of a spontaneous malignant pituicytoma in a rodent.
PubMed: 26441479
DOI: 10.1293/tox.2015-0012 -
World Journal of Surgical Oncology Jul 2015Reported herein is a 25-year-old woman who was treated for a large and highly atypical prolactin-producing pituitary adenoma. On presentation, she exhibited right...
Reported herein is a 25-year-old woman who was treated for a large and highly atypical prolactin-producing pituitary adenoma. On presentation, she exhibited right hemiparesis and left-sided visual loss, associated with amenorrhea. A massive (>5 cm) intra- and suprasellar lesion was seen on imaging, and her serum prolactin level was 4408 ng/ml. The patient received dopamine agonist treatment preoperatively for 4 weeks. To resect the tumor, a two-stage excision was required. Histologically, the specimen was composed of polygonal or spindle cells showing marked nuclear pleomorphism and/or multinucleation. Fibrosis was also focally conspicuous. Differential diagnoses included pituitary adenoma, pituitary carcinoma, pituicytoma, paraganglioma, spindle cell oncocytoma, and meningioma. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for prolactin, chromogranin-A, and synaptophysin, but were negative for glial fibrillary acidic protein, S-100 protein, epithelial membrane antigen, and vimentin. No apparent cerebrospinal or systemic metastases are found. Ultimately, prolactin-producing pituitary adenoma was diagnosed. Our case highlights the difficulty in definitively diagnosing an unusual prolactin-producing adenoma based on histopathology alone and the importance of referring to clinical information and immunohistochemical findings when deriving the diagnosis.
Topics: Adenoma; Adult; Female; Humans; Nevus, Spindle Cell; Pituitary Neoplasms; Prognosis; Prolactinoma
PubMed: 26228535
DOI: 10.1186/s12957-015-0655-x -
Journal of Neurological Surgery. Part... Feb 2013Background The spectrum of infundibular lesions is broad and distinct from sellar pathologies. In many cases, histology is needed to establish the correct diagnosis...
Background The spectrum of infundibular lesions is broad and distinct from sellar pathologies. In many cases, histology is needed to establish the correct diagnosis and determine the treatment approach. Methods Medical files of eight patients with distinct infundibular tumors were reviewed. Histopathologically confirmed diagnosis included three pituicytomas, three granular cell tumors, and two pilocytic astrocytomas. Results Patients shared similar imaging findings and clinical symptoms, including visual impairment (n = 5), hypopituitarism (n = 4), and headache (n = 4); one patient presented with disseminated disease and symptoms from spinal metastases. All the pituicytomas, two granular cell tumors, and one infundibular pilocytic astrocytoma case underwent endoscopic endonasal surgery; gross total resection was achieved in five patients, three developed postoperative diabetes insipidus, and two developed hypopituitarism. No recurrences were observed. One granular cell tumor patient was treated with gamma-knife radiosurgery after stereotactic biopsy; the tumor remained stable in size for over 9 years. The infundibular pilocytic astrocytoma patient who presented with spinal metastases received radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy. The overall mean follow-up period was 25.1 months. Conclusion Infundibular tumors are rare entities that represent a diagnostic challenge. Histopathological examination is essential for definitive diagnosis. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy all have a role in the management of these tumors.
PubMed: 24436883
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1329619 -
Brain Pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) Sep 2013This article reviews recent literature on sellar region masses that most closely mimic nonsecretory pituitary adenomas: hypophysitis, pituicytoma, spindle cell... (Review)
Review
This article reviews recent literature on sellar region masses that most closely mimic nonsecretory pituitary adenomas: hypophysitis, pituicytoma, spindle cell oncocytoma, and granular cell tumor of neurohypophysis. Even today, these four entities often cannot be confidently distinguished from each other clinically or by preoperative neuroimaging features. Thus, they often come to biopsy/surgical resection and require tissue confirmation of diagnosis. Causes of secondary and primary hypophysitis will be discussed, including two newly described types, IgG4 plasma cell hypophysitis and hypophysitis caused by anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 antibody therapy for cancer. For the neoplastic conditions, emphasis will be placed on literature that has emerged since these entities were first codified in the 2007 World Health Organization fascicle. The finding that immunohistochemical staining for thyroid transcription factor-1 is shared by pituicytoma, spindle cell oncocytoma, and granular cell tumor of neurohypophysis suggests common lineage and explains why histological overlap can be encountered. We incorporate our own experiences over the last 30 years from two referral institutions with specialty practices in pituitary region masses.
Topics: Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Nuclear Proteins; Pituitary Diseases; Pituitary Neoplasms; Sella Turcica; Thyroid Nuclear Factor 1; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 23701182
DOI: 10.1111/bpa.12068 -
Brain Pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) Nov 2012Pituicytoma is a rare, low-grade neoplasm that originates in the neurohypophysis of the pituitary gland. We report the clinicopathologic features of a pituicytoma...
Pituicytoma is a rare, low-grade neoplasm that originates in the neurohypophysis of the pituitary gland. We report the clinicopathologic features of a pituicytoma arising in a 40-year-old female who presented with menstrual disorder for 2 months, clinically suggestive of a pituitary microadenoma. The tumor was marked by a proliferation of elongated cells arranged in bundles and interlacing fascicles. The tumor demonstrated positive staining with S-100 protein and patchy staining for glial fibrillary acid protein and Epithelial Membrane Antigen. The tumor did not stain with antibodies to Progesterone receptor and Neu-n. An MIB-1 labeling was lower than 1%. The tumor was subtotally resected and didn’t recur after the initial surgery.
Topics: Adenoma; Adult; Female; Humans; Pituitary Neoplasms
PubMed: 23050875
DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2012.00641.x