Pituitary Tumors

A pituitary tumor is a condition that can affect anyone but is more common in older adults and women. At OU Health, you benefit from our expert multidisciplinary team that provides comprehensive care. Located in Oklahoma City, our specialized services include advanced diagnostic and treatment options, ensuring personalized care for each patient. Understanding your risk and symptoms is crucial, and our team is dedicated to offering the most effective solutions for managing and treating pituitary tumors.

What is the Pituitary Gland & Tumor Risk?

The pituitary gland, also known as the hypophysis, is a small, pea-sized gland located at the base of your brain, behind your nasal sinuses and above the roof of your mouth. It is part of the endocrine system in a specialized area called the sella turcica. As the body's master gland, the pituitary regulates other glands by directing their functions.

It’s not known exactly how pituitary tumors are formed, but researchers have discovered that some people inherit gene mutations that increase the risk.

Pituitary gland tumors are among the most common types of tumors for adolescents between ages 15 to 19. Pituitary tumors can occur at any age and can affect anyone. However, pituitary tumors are more commonly diagnosed in older adults. Women are generally more likely to develop pituitary tumors than men.

Pituitary tumors can be a part of a syndrome that also includes an increased risk of other types of tumors. These syndromes are caused by mutations in a person’s genes, which have been inherited from a parent. Syndromes that can increase the risk of pituitary tumors include:

• Multiple endocrine neoplasia, type I (MEN1)
• Multiple endocrine neoplasia, type IV (MEN4)
• McCune-Albright syndrome
• Carney complex

Even if one of these syndromes or pituitary tumors runs in your family, it doesn’t mean you will develop one.

What Are the Symptoms of a Pituitary Tumor?

Pituitary tumors can disrupt your health by pressing on the pituitary gland. Most pituitary tumors do not make hormones and are discovered either due to headache or due to a vision issue rather than hormonal effects. A pituitary tumor may result in the following symptoms:

• Headaches
• Vision problems, such as loss of peripheral vision, double vision or tunnel vision
• Dizziness
• Facial numbness or pain

Types of Pituitary Tumors

Pituitary tumors are the most common growths found in the sellar area (base) of the brain. But sometimes, other rare types of growths can also appear in this location, including:.

• Non-secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET)
• Secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET)
• Craniopharyngioma
• Hypophysitis
• Optic pathway/hypothalamic glioma (OP/HG)
• Chordoma
• Germinoma

Most pituitary tumors are benign (non-cancerous). They are called pituitary adenomas, and they don’t spread to other parts of the body. However, even though they are not cancerous, they can still cause significant problems.

Cancerous pituitary tumors are called carcinomas, and they are very rare. They can occur at any age but are usually found in older people. Like many adenomas, they usually make hormones. It can be difficult telling a pituitary carcinoma and a pituitary adenoma apart under a microscope as they look very similar. The only way to confirm a pituitary carcinoma is when the tumor spreads to another part of the body not near the pituitary gland. Pituitary carcinomas are most likely to spread to the brain, spinal cord, the covering of the brain and spinal cord (meninges), or the bone around the pituitary.

Sometimes a cyst may form on the pituitary gland, or near it. A pituitary cyst is a sac that may be filled with fluid, air, or another material. A cyst is not a type of pituitary tumor. Other conditions may also be identified at the base of the brain, including:

• Rathke cleft cyst
• Meningioma
• Arachnoid cyst
• Metastasis
• Epidermoid cyst
• Dermoid cyst
• Aneurysm
• Lymphoma
• Sarcoidosis

Treatments for Pituitary Tumors

There are different treatments for pituitary tumors that depend on the tumor size, type of tumor, location of tumor, your health and age among other things.

There are various options for treating pituitary tumors that include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or medications to stop the tumor from producing hormones. Alternatively, sometimes the best option is to wait and watch the tumor closely and see if it’s growing or causing new symptoms.

Surgery for the Removal of Pituitary Tumors

Although many tumors are observed or managed with medication, those requiring surgery may be recommended for either technique, depending on the size, configuration, symptoms, and hormone secretion status of the mass. There are two main surgical approaches for pituitary tumors — the endoscopic endonasal approach, or a craniotomy.

• Endoscopic endonasal approach is performed by a multidisciplinary team that typically involves a skull base neurosurgeon and a subspecialty trained ENT surgeon. This technique uses a small cameras and specialized equipment to use the nose as a corridor to the skull base. For most operations, this means that the brain and cranial nerves are untouched by the surgeons, minimizing the risk of the operation, and there is no visible scar.
• Craniotomy is the more traditional approach to pituitary tumor resection, and still has an important role for larger tumors, or tumors that extend beyond the center of the brain that are less well suited to the endoscopic endonasal technique. Although more invasive, a craniotomy provides better visualization of certain blood vessels, cranial nerves, or other critical structures that may be involved with larger or more aggressive tumors, and may therefore be the preferred approach, depending on the nature of your pituitary tumor.

Related OU Health Services

Explore related OU Health services, including:

• Doc Talks Program

• Child Safety and Injury Prevention Program

• Pediatric Camps (Cavett, Independence, Mighty Mouth)

• Camp Blue Hawk

• Cancer Prevention & Screening Programs

Your Expert Pituitary Tumor Team

Your comprehensive multidisciplinary pituitary team at OU Health includes neurosurgeons, ear nose and throat (ENT) surgeons and radiation oncologists dedicated to providing you with the most efficient diagnosis and treatment of pituitary tumor removal. All team members are fellowship trained to ensure the most up-to-date and advanced treatment options, both medical and surgical.

The OU Health multidisciplinary pituitary tumor team holds a weekly skull base tumor board meeting to discuss challenging cases and develop tailored treatment plans unique to you and your circumstances.