scholarly journals Management of giant prolactinoma causing craniocervical instability: illustrative case

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arunit J. S. Chugh ◽  
Mohit Patel ◽  
Lorayne Chua ◽  
Baha Arafah ◽  
Nicholas C. Bambakidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dopamine Agonist ◽  
Medical Therapy ◽  
Pituitary Tumors ◽  
Symptomatic Improvement ◽  
Serum Prolactin ◽  
Occipital Condyle ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Giant Prolactinoma ◽  
Craniocervical Instability ◽  
Giant Prolactinomas

BACKGROUND Giant prolactinomas (>4 cm) are a rare entity, constituting less than 1% of all pituitary tumors. Diagnosis can usually be achieved through endocrinological analysis, but biopsy may be considered when trying to differentiate between invasive nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas and primary clival tumors such as chordomas. OBSERVATIONS The authors presented a rare case of a giant prolactinoma causing significant clival and occipital condyle erosion, which led to craniocervical instability. They provided a review of the multimodal management. Management involved medical therapy with dopamine agonists, and surgery was reserved for acute neural compression or dopamine agonist resistance, with the caveat that surgery was extremely unlikely to lead to normalization of serum prolactin in dopamine agonist–resistant tumors. LESSONS Adjunctive surgical therapy may be necessary in cases of skull base erosion, particularly when erosion or pathological fractures involve the occipital condyles. Modern posterior occipital-cervical fusion techniques have high rates of arthrodesis and can lead to symptomatic improvement. This procedure should be considered early in the multimodal approach to giant prolactinomas because of the often dramatic response to medical therapy and potential for further craniocervical instability.

scholarly journals The Medical Treatment of the Hypersecreting Pituitary Gland

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Corenblum
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Improvement ◽  
Medical Therapy ◽  
Pituitary Adenomas ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Pituitary Tumors ◽  
Serum Prolactin ◽  
Metabolic Complications ◽  
Pharmacological Agents ◽  
Neurological Effects ◽  
Suprasellar Extension

ABSTRACT:Pituitary adenomas may produce local endocrine and neurological effects, as well as systemic metabolic complications due to hormonal hypersecretion. Medical therapy with pharmacological agents has been developed and is based on the neurotransmitter regulation of normal pituitary hormonal secretion. 189 patients with secretory pituitary adenomas underwent medical therapy for the hypersecretory state. 156 of these were prolactin-secreting adenomas, 16 of which were in males. The response of bromocriptine was almost universal with lowering of serum prolactin and reversal of the clinical symptoms, as well as tumor shrinkage of most large adenomas with suprasellar extension. 23 patients with acromegaly were treated with bromocriptine, with 11 noting clinical improvement, and decreased tumor size in two. Five patients with Cushing’s disease were treated with cyproheptadine, with only one showing a biochemical and clinical improvement. Two patients with Nelson’s syndrome each had progressive tumor growth stabilized with cyproheptadine and bromocriptine in one, and sodium valproate in the other. There appears to be a role for medical therapy in the majority of prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors, some growth hormone secreting pituitary tumors, and selected adrenocorticotropin secreting-pituitary tumors.

scholarly journals SAT-247 Use of Double Dopamine Agonists in Giant Prolactinomas: A Series of 6 Cases

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueh Chien Kuan
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Medical Therapy ◽  
Visual Field Defect ◽  
Tolerability Profile ◽  
Residual Tumour ◽  
Careful Monitoring ◽  
Presenting Symptoms ◽  
Giant Prolactinoma ◽  
Giant Prolactinomas ◽  
Field Defect

Abstract Dopamine agonist monotherapy is first line therapy in giant prolactinomas even when visual field defect is present. The costlier cabergoline is often preferred over bromocriptine due to higher efficacy and tolerability profile. Described herein combined cabergoline and bromocriptine therapy in 6 cases of giant prolactinomas. Retrospective records review of 6 patients with giant prolactinoma (3 males: M1-M3, 3 females: F1-F3) in a single tertiary centre was performed. Mean age at diagnosis: 29 years (range 17-39). Mean duration of follow up: 7 years (range 3-11). Headache and visual field defect were the presenting symptoms in all cases. Basal prolactin concentration: 100000 to 468851 mIU/L (<300 for male, <600 for female). Three patients have hypopituitarism at presentation, one after surgery and one remained eupitary 5 years after diagnosis. One developed late onset hypopituitarism 4 years after normalisation of prolactin levels. Three patients underwent debulking at presentation because of significant mass effects with obstructive hydrocephalus. In all patients cabergoline 1-1.5 mg/wk was started at diagnosis and gradually increased to 0.5 mg daily, aiming for normoprolactinemia. From May 2017 bromocriptine were given to these patients who continued to have hyperprolactinemia despite cabergoline 3.5-4mg/wk. Bromocriptine was commenced 1.25-5mg/day and gradually increased to 10 mg/day on top of cabergoline with careful monitoring of prolactin levels and side effects. Cabergoline was tapered down to 1.5-2mg/wk if prolactin levels remained stable between 2-3x normal while maintaining dose of bromocriptine. In M1, cabergoline was tapered off while maintaining bromocriptine 10mg/day with stable prolactin levels (~1000 mIU/L). In M2, normoprolactinemia was achieved after adding on bromocriptine and is currently on cabergoline 2mg/week and bromocriptine 10mg/day. In M3, whose prolactin were 4x normal value despite cabergoline 3.5mg/week, decreased 50% with bromocriptine 5 mg/day and remained stable when cabergoline reduced to 1.5mg/week. F1 had transphenoidal section twice due to failure of medical therapy. Her prolactin remained markedly elevated 10000-20000 mIU/L despite cabergoline 3.5 mg/week and bromocriptine 10mg/day, with persistent bitemporal hemianopia. F2 developed erythema nodosum after starting bromocriptine which was stopped and continued with cabergoline 1 mg/week. F3 showed partial response with 50% reduction in prolactin to 4485 mIU/L with bromocriptine 10 mg/day and cabergoline 1.5mg/week. In patients who underwent debulking, residual tumour remained unchanged. Two patients - tumour shrank 40% (F2) and 90% (M3) with medical therapy alone. In conclusion, adding on bromocriptine can be considered when high dose cabergoline is required for treatment of giant prolactinoma with careful monitoring. This reduces cabergoline dose which saves cost.

scholarly journals Giant Prolactinomas: Outcomes of Multimodal Treatments for 42 Cases with Long-Term Follow-Up

2018 ◽  
Vol 127 (05) ◽  
pp. 295-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Lv ◽  
Yu Hu ◽  
Senlin Yin ◽  
Peizhi Zhou ◽  
Yuan Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dopamine Agonist ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Pituitary Tumors ◽  
First Line ◽  
Cavernous Sinus Invasion ◽  
Initial Surgery ◽  
Long Term Follow Up ◽  
Giant Prolactinomas ◽  
Almost All

AbstractGiant prolactinomas represent a rare entity of pituitary tumors so that the management of these patients is still a prevalent challenge at present. Paying special attention to the treatment strategy and outcomes, we presented a large series of 42 cases looking forward to share our understanding and experience in management of these patients. Male patients accounted for 71.4% of this series and were relatively younger (35.70±2.42 vs. 52.00±3.55 years, p=0.0011) and harbored bigger tumors (14.57 vs. 7.74 cm3, p=0.0179) compared to females. Almost all of these tumors showed suprasellar extension (97.6%) and cavernous sinus invasion (92.9%). Dopamine agonist represented an efficient method to control PRL concentrations (98.8%) and reduce tumor burdens (81.2 %). PRL normalization was detected in 13 out of the 27 patients initially treated with bromocriptine (BRC) whereas none of the 14 patients with first-line operation gained a normalization of PRL concentration after surgery. Although there was no reliable predictor of tumor response, First PRL reduction was a predictive criterion for the nadir PRL level during the long-time period of follow-up for first-line bromocriptine treatment. In conclusion, patients with giant prolactinomas did not gain more benefits from initial surgery. Dopamine agonist (BRC) should be first-line treatment for giant prolactinomas whereas operation merely served as a remedy for acute compression symptoms and dopamine agonist resistance. Consecutive monitoring of serum PRL levels in the early stage of initial BRC treatment is useful for evaluation of therapeutic effect and further therapeutic decision.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of long-term cabergoline treatment for giant prolactinoma: study of 12 men

2007 ◽  
Vol 156 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Shimon ◽  
Carlos Benbassat ◽  
Moshe Hadani
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
The Other ◽  
Serum Prolactin ◽  
Visual Field Defects ◽  
First Line ◽  
Giant Prolactinoma ◽  
First Line Therapy ◽  
Line Therapy ◽  
Giant Prolactinomas ◽  
Field Defects

Objective: To review our experience with cabergoline, a D2-selective dopamine agonist, for the treatment of giant prolactinomas. Design: A retrospective case series; descriptive statistics. Methods: The study group included 12 men aged 24–52 years (mean 39.2 years) treated for giant prolactinoma at our centers from 1997 to 2006. Cabergoline was started at a dose of 0.5 mg/three times a week and progressively increased as necessary to up to 7 mg/week. Patients were followed by hormone measurements, sellar magnetic resonance imaging, and visual examinations. Results: In ten patients, cabergoline served as first-line therapy. The other two patients had previously undergone transsphenoidal partial tumor resection because of visual deterioration. Mean serum prolactin level before treatment was 14 393 ± 14 579 ng/ml (range 2047–55 033 ng/ml; normal 5–17 ng/ml). Following treatment, levels normalized in ten men within 1–84 months (mean, 25.3 months) and decreased in the other two to 2–3 times of normal. Tumor diameter, which measured 40–70 mm at diagnosis, showed a mean maximal decrease of 47 ± 21%; response was first noted about 6 months after the onset of treatment. Nine patients had visual field defects at diagnosis; vision returned to normal in three of them and improved in five. Testosterone levels, initially low in all patients, normalized in eight. There were no side effects of treatment. Conclusion: Cabergoline therapy appears to be effective and safe in men with giant prolactinomas. These findings suggest that cabergoline should be the first-line therapy for aggressive prolactinomas, even in patients with visual field defects.

scholarly journals Giant Prolactinomas: An Experience From South India

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A644-A644
Author(s):  
Vishwanath S ◽  
Belinda George ◽  
Vageesh Ayyar ◽  
Ganapathi Bantwal ◽  
Sonali Appaiah
Keyword(s):  
Dopamine Agonist ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Response To Therapy ◽  
Central Hypothyroidism ◽  
Giant Prolactinoma ◽  
Dopamine Agonist Therapy ◽  
Men 2 ◽  
Pituitary Dysfunction ◽  
Median Period ◽  
Giant Prolactinomas

Abstract Giant prolactinomas are large lactotroph adenomas, defined as those with maximum dimension of >4cm. They constitute <5% of all prolactin secreting tumors, and are more frequently seen in men. They present with features of hyperprolactinemia and hypopitutarism and are responsive to dopamine agonist therapies. In the current study we have shared our experience on management of giant prolactinomas over the last 15 years. We collected clinical data retrospectively from medical records of patients with giant prolactinoma managed at our institute over the last 15 years. This study describes the symptomatology, tumor characteristics and response to therapy. Our study included 21 patients with 15 males and 6 females. The mean age of presentation was 32 ± 10.3 years, ranging between 10 to 53 years. Vision defect was the predominant complaint (57%, 12 patients), followed by headache (52%, 11 patients). Erectile dysfunction was a presenting feature in 13% of men (2 patients) and amenorrhea/galactorrhea in 33% of women (2 patients). Seizure was seen in 10% of the patients (2 patients) and 10% (2 patients) were diagnosed with giant prolactinoma on evaluation for primary infertility. Tumor associated pituitary dysfunction manifested as hypogonadism in 67%, 14 patients, central hypothyroidism in 38%, 8 patients, and hypocortisolism in 1 patient. The median maximum tumor dimension was 4.4 cm with median basal PRL of 7168 ng/ml. Five patients underwent debulking surgery (24% of the patients) prior to endocrinology referral for indications such as apoplexy/raised intracranial tension. All patients received cabergoline and a mean dose of 2.1 ± 1.7 mg/week (range, 1-7 mg/week) was prescribed to attain a median nadir prolactin level of 48 ng/ml over a median period of 4 months (range, 1-40 months). The follow-up MRI data was analysed for 13 patients. Tumor shrinkage of >50% from the baseline was seen in all but 1 patient (92%) and 2 patients had disappearance of radiologically detectable tumor. Although giant prolactinomas have a greater tumor burden than the more common macroprolactinomas, the responsiveness to dopamine agonist therapy is excellent and surgical therapy is reserved for any exceedingly large tumors to relieve compression on vital structures.

scholarly journals Reappraising the Role of Trans-Sphenoidal Surgery in Prolactin-Secreting Pituitary Tumors

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3252
Author(s):  
Pier Paolo Mattogno ◽  
Quintino Giorgio D’Alessandris ◽  
Sabrina Chiloiro ◽  
Antonio Bianchi ◽  
Antonella Giampietro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Tumors ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Serum Prolactin ◽  
Cure Rate ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Unique Challenge ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Pituitary Diseases

Background: Prolactinomas represent a unique challenge for endocrinologists and neurosurgeons. Considering recent innovations in surgical practice, the authors aimed to investigate the best management for prolactinomas. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional and monocentric study was designed. Consecutive patients affected by prolactinomas were enrolled if treated with a first-line treatment with a dopamine agonist (DA) or trans-sphenoidal surgery (TSS). Patients carried giant prolactinomas, and those with a follow-up <12 months were excluded. Results: Two hundred and fifty-nine patients were enrolled. The first treatment was DA for 140 patients and TS for 119 cases. One hundred and forty-six of 249 patients (58.6%) needed a second therapy. The mean follow-up was 102.2 months (12–438 months). Surgery highly impacted on the cure rate—in particular, in females (p = 0.0021) and in microprolactinomas (p = 0.0020). Considering the multivariate analysis, the female gender and surgical treatment in the course of the clinical history were the only independent positive predictors of a cure at the end of 5 years follow-up (p = 0.0016, p = 0.0005). The evaluation of serum prolactin (24 hours after TSS) revealed that 86.4% of patients with postoperative prolactin (PRL) ≤10 ng/mL were cured at the end of the follow-up (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: According to our experience, surgery allows a high cure rate of prolactinomas, particularly in females with microadenoma, with a good safety profile. TSS for prolactinomas should be considered as a concrete option, during the multidisciplinary evaluation, in centers of reference for pituitary diseases.

Medical therapy for non-functioning pituitary tumors—a critical approach

HORMONES ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Metaxia Tampourlou ◽  
Olga Karapanou ◽  
Dimitra A. Vassiliadi ◽  
Stylianos Tsagarakis
Keyword(s):  
Medical Therapy ◽  
Pituitary Tumors ◽  
Critical Approach

scholarly journals Giant Prolactinoma presenting with facial nerve palsy and hemiparesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Sliwinska ◽  
Fatima Jalil ◽  
Lori De La Portilla ◽  
Michael Baldwin ◽  
Joseph Lorenzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Facial Nerve ◽  
Prolactin Level ◽  
Nerve Palsy ◽  
Facial Nerve Palsy ◽  
Sella Turcica ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Lower Extremity Weakness ◽  
Giant Prolactinoma ◽  
Giant Prolactinomas ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background Giant prolactinomas are an exceedingly uncommon type of pituitary adenomas that usually occur in men, cause extremely high prolactin levels and mass related symptoms. Rarely, patients may experience neurological deficits resembling ischemic events. Methods We describe an unusual case of a young man who presented with stroke-like symptoms and was found to have a giant prolactinoma. Clinical Case 25-year-old man presented with the left facial droop and gradually progressing upper and lower extremity weakness for evaluation of stroke. He reported recent weight gain and erectile dysfunction. Physical exam revealed left homonymous hemianopsia, left VII nerve palsy, and left hemiparesis. MRI of the brain showed an enormous mass in the sella turcica, which invaded the sphenoid sinus and right side of the skull base. Prolactin level was elevated at 13580 ng/mL, and the testosterone level was low. The patient was started on cabergoline and had marked improvement in his symptoms in a few months. Fifteen months after starting treatment, he has had more than 90% reduction in tumor volume and a 93% reduction in prolactin level. Conclusion Giant prolactinomas are uncommon and present with compressive symptoms that can be mistaken for a stroke. Our case is a unique report of a facial nerve palsy and hemiparesis secondary to giant prolactinoma in the absence of stroke or pituitary apoplexy.

scholarly journals Transoral digital reduction of complete anterior odontoid dislocation followed by fiducial-based navigated transcondylar screw fixation: illustrative case

2022 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Fusion ◽  
Screw Fixation ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Pedicle Screws ◽  
Craniocervical Junction ◽  
Atlantoaxial Instability ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Lateral Mass ◽  
Craniocervical Instability

BACKGROUND Posterior atlantoaxial dislocations (i.e., complete anterior odontoid dislocation) without C1 arch fractures are a rare hyperextension injury most often found in high-velocity trauma patients. Treatment options include either closed or open reduction and optional spinal fusion to address atlantoaxial instability due to ligamentous injury. OBSERVATIONS A 60-year-old male was struck while on his bicycle by a truck and sustained an odontoid dislocation without C1 arch fracture. Imaging findings additionally delineated a high suspicion for craniocervical instability. The patient had neurological issues due to both a head injury and ischemia secondary to an injured vertebral artery. He was stabilized and transferred to our facility for definitive neurosurgical care. LESSONS The patient underwent a successful transoral digital closed reduction and posterior occipital spinal fusion via a fiducial-based transcondylar, C1 lateral mass, C2 pedicle, and C3 lateral mass construct. This unique reduction technique has not been recorded in the literature before and avoided potential complications of overdistraction and the need for odontoidectomy. Furthermore, the use of bone fiducials for navigated screw fixation at the craniocervical junction is a novel technique and recommended particularly for placement of technically demanding transcondylar screws and C2 pedicle screws where pars anatomy is potentially unfavorable.

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