scholarly journals Pituitary Metastasis of Lung Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Mimicking Pituitary Adenoma:Case Report and Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohai Liu ◽  
Renzhi Wang ◽  
Mingchu Li ◽  
Ge Chen

Pituitary metastasis is an unusual situation in clinical practice, while the incidence is increasing with age. Breast cancer for women and lung cancer for men were the most frequent primary origins of pituitary metastasis. Diagnosing asymptomatic patients with unknown primary malignant origin is difficult, thus pituitary metastasis may be diagnosed as primary pituitary adenoma. Here, we report a case of a 65-year-old patient with visual changes and diabetes insipidus, showing an extensive mass in the sellar region which was initially thought to be a primary pituitary adenoma. Patient corticotropic deficits were corrected, and transnasal transsphenoidal surgery was adopted, leading to total tumor resection. Tumor texture during surgical procedure was similar to that of pituitary adenoma. However, the histopathological and immunohistochemistry results suggested it as a pituitary metastasis from lung neuroendocrine tumor. Postoperative chest CT scan confirmed a pulmonary mass consistent with primary neoplasm. Abdominal CT further detected multiple metastases in liver, pancreas, and colon. Despite intensive treatment, the patient continued to show decreased level of consciousness due to cachexia, resulting in death 1 week after surgery. This case highlights the importance of differential diagnosis of invasive lesions of the sellar region, especially in individuals over 60 years of age with diabetes insipidus.

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-13
Author(s):  
Ludmila I. Astafyeva ◽  
Boris A. Kadashev ◽  
Pavel L. Kalinin ◽  
Maxim A. Kutin ◽  
Irina S. Klochkova ◽  
...  

Background. The pituitary stalk (PS) is an anatomical structure consisting of the portal vessel system and axons of the hypothalamic nuclei terminating in the posterior pituitary lobe. Surgical injury or compression (by a tumor or another space-occupying process) of the PS can lead to hypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus, and hyperprolactinemia. However, the literature lacks studies on the extent of these disorders depending on PS injury or compression in clinical practice. Aim. The study aim was to investigate pre- and postoperative endocrine disorders in patients with chiasmo-sellar region (CSR) tumors and the PS compressed and preserved or involuntarily transected during neurosurgery. Material and methods. The PS compressed before surgery was preserved in 82 patients (41 patients with non-functioning endosuprasellar adenoma and 41 — with suprasellar meningioma). The PS was transected during transcranial surgery in 57 patients (46 patients with pituitary stalk craniopharyngioma and 11 patients with non-functioning endosupresellar pituitary adenoma). All patients underwent blood tests for prolactin (PRL), TSH, LH, FSH, free T4, cortisol, testosterone, or estradiol levels before and 6 months after surgery. Results. Hyperprolactinemia was detected in 37.4% of patients with CSR tumors compressing the PS. Elimination of PS compression led to normalization of the PRL level in most patients and was not accompanied by worsening of hypopituitarism symptoms. Transection of the PS resulted in panhypopituitarism in 100% of patients and diabetes insipidus in 93% of cases. There was no evidence of hyperprolactinemia in 58.7% of patients with craniopharyngiomas and 81.9% of patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas. Conclusion. Given the difference in symptoms, we distinguished two syndromes: PS compression syndrome and PS transection syndrome. Syndrome of PS compression by a CSR tumor was characterized mainly by hyperprolactinemia (37.4% of cases); elimination of PS compression due to tumor resection led to normalization of the PRL level in most patients and was not accompanied by worsening of hypopituitarism symptoms. Syndrome of surgical PS transection in patients with craniopharyngioma (CP) and non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) manifested as panhypopituitarism in all patients and as permanent diabetes insipidus in most of them. The causes for the absence of hyperprolactinemia in many patients with the transected PS require further research. We can not exclude both adenohypophysis ischemia (due to its impaired blood supply) with partial or complete atrophy of lactotrophic cells and pituitary revascularization with restoration of dopamine transport.


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludmila I. Astafyeva ◽  
Boris A. Kadashev ◽  
Pavel L. Kalinin ◽  
Maxim A. Kutin ◽  
Irina S. Klochkova ◽  
...  

Background. The pituitary stalk (PS) is an anatomical structure consisting of the portal vessel system and axons of the hypothalamic nuclei terminating in the posterior pituitary lobe. Surgical injury or compression (by a tumor or another space-occupying process) of the PS can lead to hypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus, and hyperprolactinemia. However, the literature lacks studies on the extent of these disorders depending on PS injury or compression in clinical practice. Aim. The study aim was to investigate pre- and postoperative endocrine disorders in patients with chiasmo-sellar region (CSR) tumors and the PS compressed and preserved or involuntarily transected during neurosurgery. Material and methods. The PS compressed before surgery was preserved in 82 patients (41 patients with non-functioning endosuprasellar adenoma and 41 — with suprasellar meningioma). The PS was transected during transcranial surgery in 57 patients (46 patients with pituitary stalk craniopharyngioma and 11 patients with non-functioning endosupresellar pituitary adenoma). All patients underwent blood tests for prolactin (PRL), TSH, LH, FSH, free T4, cortisol, testosterone, or estradiol levels before and 6 months after surgery. Results. Hyperprolactinemia was detected in 37.4% of patients with CSR tumors compressing the PS. Elimination of PS compression led to normalization of the PRL level in most patients and was not accompanied by worsening of hypopituitarism symptoms. Transection of the PS resulted in panhypopituitarism in 100% of patients and diabetes insipidus in 93% of cases. There was no evidence of hyperprolactinemia in 58.7% of patients with craniopharyngiomas and 81.9% of patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas. Conclusion. Given the difference in symptoms, we distinguished two syndromes: PS compression syndrome and PS transection syndrome. Syndrome of PS compression by a CSR tumor was characterized mainly by hyperprolactinemia (37.4% of cases); elimination of PS compression due to tumor resection led to normalization of the PRL level in most patients and was not accompanied by worsening of hypopituitarism symptoms. Syndrome of surgical PS transection in patients with craniopharyngioma (CP) and non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) manifested as panhypopituitarism in all patients and as permanent diabetes insipidus in most of them. The causes for the absence of hyperprolactinemia in many patients with the transected PS require further research. We can not exclude both adenohypophysis ischemia (due to its impaired blood supply) with partial or complete atrophy of lactotrophic cells and pituitary revascularization with restoration of dopamine transport.


2022 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Hashimoto ◽  
Tomoyuki Maruo ◽  
Masami Nakamura ◽  
Yukitaka Ushio ◽  
Masayuki Hirata ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Symptomatic pituitary metastasis is rare; furthermore, it can result in diabetes insipidus and panhypopituitarism. Since diabetes insipidus is masked by concurrent panhypopituitarism, it can impede the diagnosis of pituitary dysfunction. Case presentation A 68-year-old Japanese female suffering from pituitary and thalamic metastases caused by untreated breast cancer, underwent a biopsy targeting the thalamus, not the pituitary. She lacked prebiopsy pituitary dysfunction symptoms; however, these symptoms unexpectedly occurred after biopsy. Diabetes insipidus was masked by corticosteroid insufficiency, and she showed normal urinary output and plasma sodium levels. Upon commencement of glucocorticoid replacement therapy, the symptoms of diabetes insipidus appeared. Conclusions In this case, thalamic biopsy, as opposed to pituitary biopsy, was performed to preserve pituitary function. However, pituitary dysfunction could not be avoided. Caution is necessary for asymptomatic patients with pituitary metastases as invasive interventions, such as surgery, may induce pituitary dysfunction. Moreover, with respect to masked diabetes insipidus, there is a need to carefully consider pituitary dysfunction to avoid misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Halis Akturk ◽  
Kaniksha Desai ◽  
Ana Maria Chindris

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Fassett ◽  
William T. Couldwell

Only 1% of all pituitary surgeries are performed to treat tumors that have metastasized to the pituitary gland; however, in certain cases of malignant neoplasms pituitary metastases do occur. Breast and lung cancers are the most common diseases that metastasize to the pituitary. Breast cancer metastasizes to the pituitary especially frequently, with reported rates ranging between 6 and 8% of cases. Most pituitary metastases are asymptomatic, with only 7% reported to be symptomatic. Diabetes insipidus, anterior pituitary dysfunction, visual field defects, headache/pain, and ophthalmoplegia are the most commonly reported symptoms. Diabetes insipidus is especially common in this population, occurring in between 29 and 71% of patients who experience symptoms. Differentiation of pituitary metastasis from other pituitary tumors based on neuroimaging alone can be difficult, although certain features, such as thickening of the pituitary stalk, invasion of the cavernous sinus, and sclerosis of the surrounding sella turcica, can indicate metastasis to the pituitary gland. Overall, neurohypophysial involvement seems to be most prevalent, but breast metastases appear to have an affinity for the adenohypophysis. Differentiating metastasis to the pituitary gland from bone metastasis to the skull base, which invades the sella turcica, can also be difficult. In metastasis to the pituitary gland, surrounding sclerosis in the sella turcica is usually minimal compared with metastasis to the skull base. Treatment for these tumors is often multimodal and includes surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Tumor invasiveness can make resection difficult. Although surgical series have not shown any significant survival benefits given by tumor resection, the patient's quality of life may be improved. Survival among these patients is poor with mean survival rates reported to range between 6 and 22 months.


1983 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Boggan ◽  
Richard L. Davis ◽  
Greg Zorman ◽  
Charles B. Wilson

✓ The authors report the uncomplicated removal of an intrasellar epidermoid cyst that on presentation mimicked a pituitary adenoma. Current controversies regarding the differentiation of this cyst from other cystic lesions of the sellar region are reviewed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Adamo ◽  
Doniel Drazin ◽  
A. John Popp

Short-lasting, unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) syndrome was first described in 1978 as one of the trigeminal autonomic cephalgias. In this paper the authors present a patient with a growth hormone–secreting pituitary adenoma who experienced resolution of SUNCT syndrome after transsphenoidal tumor resection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi158-vi158
Author(s):  
Syed Ather Enam ◽  
Fauzan Alam Hashmi ◽  
Sanam Mir Ghazi ◽  
Ahsan Ali Khan ◽  
Muhammad Bilal Tariq ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Giant pituitary adenomas (GPA) are uncommon and highly variable in morphology and extension. There is no scoring system that considers all the dimensions of adenoma invasion. We developed a new Giant Pituitary Adenoma score and report our surgical experience and evaluate outcomes after resection of these tumors in accordance with the preoperative score. METHODS We developed a novel scoring system for classifying giant pituitary adenomas, and 11-year data of GPA surgery at our center was collected retrospectively, based on this scoring system. GPA Score considered tumor’s parasellar extension, encasement of cavernous internal carotid artery (ICA), suprasellar extension > 2 cm, suprasellar extension > 4cm and retrosellar extension. Maximum possible score was 9. The scoring system was applied to 53 patients of GPA who underwent surgical resection between January 1, 2006, and December 2017. The Lundin-Pederson (ABC/2) method was used to calculate the tumor volume both pre- and post-resection and linear regression was used to assess the relationship between extent of tumor resection and GPA score. RESULTS The median age of the study population was 42.08 ± 16.49 years. The mean maximum diameter of the pituitary adenomas was 5.0 cm (range 4.0 cm-8.5cm) while the mean volume of the adenomas was 27.3 cm3 (range 10 cm3-149 cm3). There were 3 cases of score 2, 5 cases of score 3, 13 cases of score 4, 20 cases of score 5, 9 cases of score 6 and 3 cases of score 7. The range of tumor volumes of tumors for scores from 2-7 was 17.3 cm3 to 65.8 cm3 and GPA score was correlated with the percent residual tumor using linear regression that was statistically significant (p= 0.001). CONCLUSION GPA Score is a reliable scoring system to predict the extent and subsequent difficulty in tumor resection in GPA.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaosong Sha ◽  
Xiejun Zhang ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Jihu Yang ◽  
Guodong Huang

Abstract Background: Breast cancer commonly metastasizes to the lung, vertebrae or liver but rarely to the pituitary gland. The majority of cases have been reported during autopsy; however, with the improvements in diagnostic methods, there has been an increasing number of cases reported in the clinical setting. The main symptoms of pituitary metastasis are reported to be headache, diabetes insipidus and visual field defects, which may cause confusion regarding the clinical diagnosis.Case presentation: The present study describes a case of pituitary metastasis symptoms of diabetes insipidus and loss of vision in a patient with breast cancer. After the patient completed the evaluation, a neuroendoscopy-assisted endonasal transsphenoidal tumor resection was performed. The postoperative biopsy revealed metastatic breast cancer.Conclusions: The present study analyzed this patient and 16 other cases of pituitary metastases collected from the PubMed database. Lung cancer, breast cancer and lymphoma could metastasize to the sellar region, while certain other tumors from the liver, parotid, colon, prostate, stomach, kidney, thyroid or skin were also observed. The clinical manifestation was often dominated by pituitary dysfunction, intracranial hypertension and visual field defects. Certain patients may suffer from oculomotor nerve paralysis, electrolyte imbalance, diabetes insipidus or a loss of vision. Imaging findings revealed that sellar metastases often invaded the suprasellar region. In a few cases, the lesion enclosed intracranial vessels, and invaded the cavernous sinus or Meckel's cave. These characteristics resulted in difficulties during surgery.


Medicine ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (50) ◽  
pp. e9139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhao ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Wei Lian ◽  
Bing Xing ◽  
Ming Feng ◽  
...  

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