scholarly journals Pituitary Adenomas Associated with Intracranial Aneurysms: the Clinical Characteristics, Therapeutic Strategies, and Possible Effects of Vascular Remodeling Factors

Author(s):  
Yoshikazu Ogawa ◽  
Mika Watanabe ◽  
Teiji Tominaga

Abstract Background Pituitary adenoma coexists with intracranial aneurysms in 2.3 to 3.6% of cases, and intracranial aneurysms are thought to be incidental. On the other hand, older age and cavernous sinus invasion are reported to increase the rate of coexistence, so these two diseases may be related. Methods Ten males and 14 females with the coexistence of pituitary adenomas and intracranial aneurysms were retrospectively investigated among 923 patients (2.6%). Patients were subdivided into two groups: those with direct attachment of cerebral aneurysms to the pituitary adenomas and those without direct attachment. The clinical characteristics, therapeutic strategies, and possible effects of vascular remodeling factors were investigated. Results Twelve patients had functioning pituitary adenomas, and cavernous sinus invasion was identified in 7 of 24 patients. Five of these 7 patients were treated with priority for the cerebral aneurysm until 2007, whereas 14 of 17 patients without involvement of the aneurysm tip in the tumor were treated with priority for the pituitary adenoma in the later period. Among vascular remodeling factors, strong expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was significantly associated with the coexistence of pituitary adenoma and cerebral aneurysm (p < 0.05). Conclusion Intracranial aneurysms were found to coexist in 2.6% of cases of surgically treated pituitary adenomas. VEGF-induced arterial wall remodeling may be part of the mechanism of association between pituitary adenomas and cerebral aneurysms, suggesting possible causative mechanism.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshikazu Ogawa ◽  
Mika Watanabe ◽  
Teiji Tominaga

Abstract Objective: Pituitary adenoma coexists with intracranial aneurysms in 2.3% to 3.6%, and intracranial aneurysms is thought to be incidental. On the other hand higher age and cavernous sinus invasion are reported to increase the coexistence rate, so these two diseases may be related. Ten males and 14 females with coexistence of pituitary adenomas and intracranial aneurysms were retrospectively investigated among 923 patients (2.6%). Patients were subdivided into two groups with/without direct attachment of cerebral aneurysms to the pituitary adenomas. The clinical characteristics, therapeutic strategies, and possible effects of vascular remodeling factors were investigated.Results: Twelve patients had functioning pituitary adenomas, and cavernous sinus invasion was identified in 7 of 24 patients. Five of these 7 patients were treated with priority for the cerebral aneurysms until 2007, whereas 14 of 17 patients without involvement of the aneurysm tip in the tumor were treated with priority for pituitary adenomas in the later period. Among vascular remodeling factors strong expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was significantly associated with coexistence of pituitary adenoma and cerebral aneurysm (p < 0.05). So VEGF-induced arterial wall remodeling may be part of the mechanism of association between pituitary adenomas and cerebral aneurysms, suggesting possible causative mechanism.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie C. Wang ◽  
David Rubinstein ◽  
Glenn W. Kindt ◽  
Robert E. Breeze

Object A familial predisposition toward cerebral aneurysms has been previously described in patients with two or more affected family members. In the present study the familial incidence of unruptured intracranial aneurysms was studied in 96 patients with at least one first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) in whom a cerebral aneurysm was diagnosed. Methods All patients were between 20 and 70 years of age and underwent three-dimensional fast–spin echo magnetic resonance imaging. Sixty-one patients (63.5%) were women. The majority of patients (84%) were caucasian and the remainder were Hispanic (13%) or African-American (3%). No patient suffered a medical condition (excluding hypertension and smoking) known to be associated with cerebral aneurysm formation. In four patients at least one aneurysm was found (two harbored multiple aneurysms). Three of the four patients were women. Two of the patients were siblings. The estimated prevalence in first-degree relatives was 4.2% (95% confidence interval 1.2–10.1). Of note, the mean age in the current study population was 39 years. The authors of recent metaanalyses have suggested that the prevalence of nonfamilial aneurysms is approximately 2%, despite earlier reports in which higher figures were cited. Conclusions The authors conclude that first-degree relatives of patients with aneurysms are at higher risk for harboring an intracranial aneurysm.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Li ◽  
Jianhua Cheng ◽  
Hongyun Wang ◽  
Sida Zhao ◽  
Haibo Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To investigate the relationship between cyclin B1 (CCNB1) gene expression and cavernous sinus invasion in pituitary adenomas. Methods Twenty-four pituitary adenoma tissue samples were examined by RT-qPCR and Western blot to assess the mRNA expression levels and protein levels of CCNB1, E-cadherin and N-cadherin. Correlation analyses between the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and CCNB1 were performed. After lentivirus-mediated knockdown of CCNB1 in rat pituitary adenoma cell lines (GH3 and GT1-1), cell function changes were studied. The relationship between CCNB1 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was further verified by animal experiments. Results CCNB1 and N-cadherin gene expression were significantly higher in the invasive pituitary adenomas than in the non-invasive pituitary adenomas. Conversely, E-cadherin expression in the invasive pituitary adenomas was significantly lower. CCNB1 gene expression was downregulated in the GH3 and GT1-1 pituitary adenoma cell lines; N-cadherin expression was also decreased, but E-cadherin expression was increased. These results were confirmed in vivo. After downregulation of CCNB1, cell invasion and migration was significantly reduced in Transwell experiments. Conclusion High CCNB1 expression in pituitary adenoma affects cavernous sinus invasion through EMT.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Salomon Cohen-Cohen ◽  
Ahmed Helal ◽  
Ziying Yin ◽  
Matthew K. Ball ◽  
Richard L. Ehman ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE Pituitary adenoma is one of the most common primary intracranial neoplasms. Most of these tumors are soft, but up to 17% may have a firmer consistency. Therefore, knowing the tumor consistency in the preoperative setting could be helpful. Multiple imaging methods have been proposed to predict tumor consistency, but the results are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of MR elastography (MRE) in predicting tumor consistency and its potential use in a series of patients with pituitary adenomas. METHODS Thirty-eight patients with pituitary adenomas (≥ 2.5 cm) were prospectively evaluated with MRI and MRE before surgery. Absolute MRE stiffness values and relative MRE stiffness ratios, as well as the relative ratio of T1 signal, T2 signal, and diffusion-weighted imaging apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were determined prospectively by calculating the ratio of those values in the tumor to adjacent left temporal white matter. Tumors were classified into three groups according to surgical consistency (soft, intermediate, and firm). Statistical analysis was used to identify the predictive value of the different radiological parameters in determining pituitary adenoma consistency. RESULTS The authors included 32 (84.21%) nonfunctional and 6 (15.79%) functional adenomas. The mean maximum tumor diameter was 3.7 cm, and the mean preoperative tumor volume was 16.4 cm3. Cavernous sinus invasion was present in 20 patients (52.63%). A gross-total resection was possible in 9 (23.68%) patients. The entire cohort’s mean absolute tumor stiffness value was 1.8 kPa (range 1.1–3.7 kPa), whereas the mean tumor stiffness ratio was 0.66 (range 0.37–1.6). Intraoperative tumor consistency was significantly correlated with absolute and relative tumor stiffness (p = 0.0087 and 0.007, respectively). Tumor consistency alone was not a significant factor for predicting gross-total resection. Patients with intermediate and firm tumors had more complications compared to patients with soft tumors (50.00% vs 12.50%, p = 0.02) and also had longer operative times (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS Whereas other MRI sequences have proven to be unreliable in determining tumor consistency, MRE has been shown to be a reliable tool for predicting adenoma consistency. Preoperative knowledge of tumor consistency could be potentially useful for surgical planning, counseling about potential surgical risks, and estimating the length of operative time.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Yu ◽  
Nan Ji ◽  
Yun Ma ◽  
Bao Yang ◽  
Peng Kang ◽  
...  

Background Headaches associated with pituitary adenoma have been reported to be related to the structural characteristics and endocrine factors of the tumour itself. Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of, and the risk factors for, non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA)-associated headaches in Chinese patients with normal endocrine activity. Methods Ninety-seven patients with a NFPA with normal endocrine laboratory results were prospectively enrolled in this study. The relevant clinical demographic data were collected and examined with the appropriate statistical methods. Results The pre-operative prevalence of tumour-associated headaches was 48.5%; 87.2% of these patients had migraine-like headaches. A family history of primary headache (odds ratio (OR) 3.67; p = 0.032) and a higher tumour Knosp grade (OR 1.83; p = 0.001) were identified as risk factors for the occurrence of NFPA-associated headaches. The patient’s age, sex, visual disturbances, optic chiasm compression, tumour size and tumour volume were not significantly associated with NFPA-associated headaches ( p > 0.05). In addition, headache severity was significantly correlated with the Knosp grade ( r = 0.339; p = 0.001). The sides of the headaches and of cavernous sinus invasion were significantly concordant (48.9% agreement; κ = 0.257; p = 0.007). Conclusions Migraine-like headaches are a common clinical manifestation in patients with NFPAs. A family history of primary headaches and cavernous sinus invasion are risk factors for NFPA-associated headaches.


2018 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 1058-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J. Rutkowski ◽  
Ryan M. Alward ◽  
Rebecca Chen ◽  
Jeffrey Wagner ◽  
Arman Jahangiri ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEIn 2004, the WHO classified atypical pituitary adenoma as a distinct adenoma subtype. However, the clinical significance of this distinction remains undetermined. The authors sought to define patient characteristics, tumor features, and treatment outcomes associated with atypical pituitary adenoma.METHODSThe authors reviewed records of patients who underwent resection of pituitary adenoma at the University of California, San Francisco, between 2007 and 2014. Per institutional protocol, adenomas exhibiting mitotic activity underwent evaluation for all 3 markers of atypicality (mitotic index, extensive p53 staining, and MIB-1 index ≥ 3%). Statistical analyses were performed using χ2, Fisher’s exact test, t-test, log-rank, and logistic regression.RESULTSBetween 2007 and 2014, 701 patients underwent resection for pituitary adenoma. Among these patients, 122 adenomas exhibited mitotic activity and therefore were evaluated for all 3 markers of atypicality, with 36 tumors (5%) proving to be atypical. There were 21 female patients (58%) and 15 male patients (42%) in the atypical cohort, and 313 female patients (47%) and 352 male patients (53%) in the nonatypical cohort (p = 0.231). The mean age of patients in the atypical cohort was 37 years (range 10–65 years), which was significantly lower than the mean age of 49 years (range 10–93 years) for patients in the nonatypical cohort (p < 0.001). The most common presenting symptoms for patients with atypical adenomas were headaches (42%) and visual changes (33%). Atypical adenomas were more likely to be functional (78%) than nonatypical adenomas (42%; p < 0.001). Functional atypical adenomas were significantly larger than functional nonatypical adenomas (mean diameter 2.2 vs 1.4 cm; p = 0.009), as were nonfunctional atypical adenomas compared with nonfunctional nonatypical adenomas (mean diameter 3.3 vs 2.3 cm; p = 0.01). Among the entire adenoma cohort, larger presenting tumor size was associated with cavernous sinus invasion (p < 0.001), and subtotal resection was associated with cavernous sinus invasion (p < 0.001) and larger size (p < 0.001) on binomial multivariate regression. The median time until recurrence was 56 months for atypical adenomas, 129 months for functional nonatypical adenomas, and 204 months for nonfunctional nonatypical adenomas (p < 0.001). Functional atypical adenomas recurred more frequently and significantly earlier than functional nonatypical adenomas (p < 0.001). When accounting for extent of resection, cavernous sinus invasion, size, age, sex, and functional subtype, atypicality remained a significant predictor of earlier recurrence among functional adenomas (p = 0.002).CONCLUSIONSWhen compared with nonatypical pituitary adenomas, atypical adenomas are more likely to present in younger patients at a larger size, are more often hormonally hypersecretory, and are associated with earlier recurrence. These features lend credence to atypical pituitary adenomas being a distinct clinical entity in addition to a discrete pathological diagnosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 800-818
Author(s):  
Zujian Xiong ◽  
Xuejun Li ◽  
Qi Yang

Pituitary Tumor Transforming Gene (PTTG) of human is known as a checkpoint gene in the middle and late stages of mitosis, and is also a proto-oncogene that promotes cell cycle progression. In the nucleus, PTTG works as securin in controlling the mid-term segregation of sister chromatids. Overexpression of PTTG, entering the nucleus with the help of PBF in pituitary adenomas, participates in the regulation of cell cycle, interferes with DNA repair, induces genetic instability, transactivates FGF-2 and VEGF and promotes angiogenesis and tumor invasion. Simultaneously, overexpression of PTTG induces tumor cell senescence through the DNA damage pathway, making pituitary adenoma possessing the potential self-limiting ability. To elucidate the mechanism of PTTG in the regulation of pituitary adenomas, we focus on both the positive and negative function of PTTG and find out key factors interacted with PTTG in pituitary adenomas. Furthermore, we discuss other possible mechanisms correlate with PTTG in pituitary adenoma initiation and development and the potential value of PTTG in clinical treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Cheng Chen ◽  
Min Lin ◽  
Kan Deng ◽  
Huijuan Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Functional gonadotroph adenomas (FGAs) are rare adenomas that most commonly secrete FSH. However, solitary LH-secreting pituitary adenomas are unusual. Case presentation A 30-year-old woman with elevated LH and normal FSH presented with inability to conceive. An MRI revealed an enlarged sella turcica and an intrasellar mass. Treatment with transsphenoidal resection led to normalization of LH and estradiol, as well as successful pregnancy. And we reviewed 6 cases of LH-secreting pituitary adenomas from 1981 to 2020. Conclusions Our case is unique because of the LH-secreting pituitary adenoma without FSH hypersecretion. This case indicates that pituitary adenoma should be considered when other diseases causing infertility have been excluded.


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