=====Pituitary incidentaloma===== Pituitary incidentaloma is a pituitary lesion serendipitously discovered on brain imaging (CT, MRI or PET) performed for some other reason. Most [[pituitary tumor]]s are detected during the investigation of symptoms associated with hormonal dysfunction and vision abnormalities. ====Epidemiology==== The wide application of CT, MRI has led to an increasing recognition of such lesions. A meta-analysis of 10 retrospective studies including slightly more than 3500 patients reported prevalence of 16.7% for pituitary adenoma and of 0.2% for macroadenoma ((Ezzat S, Asa SL, Couldwell WT, Barr CE, Dodge WE, Vance ML, et al. The prevalence of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: A systematic review. Cancer. 2004;101:613–9.)). Data on the prevalence of pituitary incidentalomas is generally derived from retrospective autopsy and imaging studies. The estimated figures vary widely from 1.5 to 38% depending on the era of the study and the study population. This variability reflects differences in definitions of pituitary incidentaloma used by the authors (asymptomatic, Non-Functioning Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor or incidentally noted lesion); the type of the study (autopsy or radiological) and the imaging technique (CT, 1.5 T or 3.0 T MRI) ((Molitch ME. Pituitary tumours: pituitary incidentalomas. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Oct;23(5):667-75. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2009.05.001. Review. PubMed PMID: 19945030. )) ((Lania A, Beck-Peccoz P. Pituitary incidentalomas. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Aug;26(4):395-403. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2011.10.009. Review. PubMed PMID: 22863383. )). In the largest meta-analysis of autopsy studies comprising 18 902 examined pituitaries from 32 series, the mean prevalence of pituitary incidentaloma was 10.7% (range 1.5–31%). Lesions were uniformly distributed between sexes and among adult age groups. Importantly, the prevalence of macroadenomas in autopsy series is <1% ((Molitch ME. Pituitary tumours: pituitary incidentalomas. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Oct;23(5):667-75. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2009.05.001. Review. PubMed PMID: 19945030. )). Some studies report slightly increased prevalence in the elderly population ((Kastelan D, Korsic M. High prevalence rate of pituitary incidentaloma: is it associated with the age-related decline of the sex hormones levels? Med Hypotheses. 2007;69(2):307-9. PubMed PMID: 17280790. )). The prevalence of clinically significant lesions was around 80 per million cases in two studies, one British ((Fernandez A, Karavitaki N, Wass JA. Prevalence of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: a community-based, cross-sectional study in Banbury (Oxfordshire, UK). Clin Endocrinol 2010;72:377–82.)) and the other Belgian ((Daly AF, Rixhon M, Adam C, Dempegioti A, Tichomirowa MA, Beckers A. High prevalence of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: a cross-sectional study in the province of Liege, Belgium. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:4769–75.)). ===== Natural History ===== [[pituitary neuroendocrine tumor Natural History]]. ====Classification==== Micro-incidentalomas have maximum diameter of less than 1cm Macro-incidentalomas are at least 1cm. Micro-incidentalomas have a reported mean prevalence in normal individuals of around 10%. ====Etiology==== Although the etiology of pituitary incidentalomas covers a wide range of pathologies, most of them (∼90%) are benign adenomas. ====Clinical features==== They may result in visual and/or neurologic abnormalities. ====Diagnosis==== Patients with a pituitary incidentaloma undergo a complete history and physical examination, laboratory evaluations screening for hormone hypersecretion and for hypopituitarism, and a visual field examination if the lesion abuts the optic nerves or chiasm. Patients with incidentalomas not meeting criteria for surgical removal should be followed with clinical assessments, neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging at 6 months for macroincidentalomas, 1 yr for a microincidentaloma, and thereafter progressively less frequently if unchanged in size), visual field examinations for incidentalomas that abut or compress the optic nerve and chiasm (6 months and yearly), and endocrine testing for macroincidentalomas (6 months and yearly) after the initial evaluations ((Freda PU, Beckers AM, Katznelson L, Molitch ME, Montori VM, Post KD, Vance ML; Endocrine Society.. Pituitary incidentaloma: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Apr;96(4):894-904. doi: 10.1210/jc.2010-1048. PubMed PMID: 21474686. )). ---- The endocrinologist facing a pituitary incidentaloma has to solve two main diagnostic problems: (i) the nature and extent of the lesion, and (ii) whether hormonal excess or deficits result from the lesion. The former is achieved by the use of pituitary MRI and [[visual field]] (VF) examination and the latter by basal or dynamic hormonal assessments. The answers to these two questions will guide the treatment and follow-up. ---- They should all be screened for hypersecretion (prolactin (PRL), IGF-1, midnight salivary cortisol), and those with macroadenomas should also be screened for hypopituitarism (macroadenomas). Growth of Non-Functioning Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors without treatment occurs in about 10% of microadenomas and 24% of macroadenomas ((Molitch ME. Pituitary tumours: pituitary incidentalomas. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Oct;23(5):667-75. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2009.05.001. Review. PubMed PMID: 19945030. )). ====Differential diagnosis==== Anterior pituitary tumors  pituitary neuroendocrine tumor  Pituitary hyperplasia  Pituitary carcinoma Posterior pituitary tumors  Pituicytoma  Granular cell tumors Benign parasellar tumors  Meningioma  Craniopharyngioma  Neurinoma  Lipoma Malignant tumors  Glioma  Germ cell tumor  Primary lymphoma  Chordoma  Chondrosarcoma  Chondroma  Ependymoblastoma  Plasmocytoma  Pituitary metastases Malformative lesions  Rathke’s cleft cyst  Dermoid cyst  Epidermoid cyst  Arachnoid cyst  Hamartoma Inflammatory and granulomatous lesions  Lymphocytic hypophysitis  Granulomatous hypophysitis  Langerhans cell histiocytosis  Tuberculosis  Sarcoidosis  Pituitary abscess Vascular lesions  Aneurysms  Cavernous angiomas  Cavernous sinus thrombosis ====Treatment==== Diagnostic, treatment and follow-up strategies should be in alignment with the optimal personalized clinical benefit ((Paschou SΑ, Vryonidou A, Goulis DG. Pituitary incidentalomas: A guide to assessment, treatment and follow-up. Maturitas. 2016 Oct;92:143-9. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2016.08.006. Review. PubMed PMID: 27621252. )). Most cases of pituitary incidentalomas do not meet criteria for surgical excision, but may require follow-up. The follow-up strategy consists of clinical evaluation, pituitary MRI, VF examination and hormonal assessments. Macro-incidentalomas require more extensive initial investigation, as well as closer MRI surveillance, than micro-incidentalomas. The following tests should be performed: MRI at 1 year for micro-incidentalomas, at 6 months for macro-incidentalomas and then less frequently if unchanged in size, visual field examination for lesions enlarging to abut or compress the optic nerves or chiasm (6 months and yearly) and endocrine testing for macro-incidentalomas (6 months and yearly) ((Donckier JE, Gustin T. Pituitary incidentaloma: to operate or not to operate? Acta Chir Belg. 2012 Jul-Aug;112(4):255-60. PubMed PMID: 23008988. )). ===Surgery=== Patients with a pituitary incidentaloma should be referred for surgery if they have a visual field deficit; signs of compression by the tumor leading to other visual abnormalities, such as ophthalmoplegia, or neurological compromise due to compression by the lesion; a lesion abutting the optic nerves or chiasm; pituitary apoplexy with visual disturbance; or if the incidentaloma is a hypersecreting tumor other than a prolactinoma. VF deficits or neurological disturbances are the strongest recommendations for surgery. Furthermore, hormonally active incidentalomas, with the exception of prolactinomas, should be treated by surgery. ====Case series==== ===2015=== Esteves et al. detected 71 pituitary [[incidentaloma]]s, 3 in children/adolescents. In adult patients, mean age was 51.6 ± 18.46 years and 42 were female (61.8 %). The most frequent reason for imaging was [[headache]] (33.8 %). The image that first detected the incidentaloma was [[CT]] scan in 63.2 and 17.6 % patients presented symptoms that could have led to earlier diagnosis. [[pituitary neuroendocrine tumor]] is the most prevalent lesion (n 48; 70.6 %), followed by [[Rathke's cleft cyst]] (n 9; 13.2 %). Hormonal evaluation revealed [[hypopituitarism]] in 14 patients and hypersecretion in 6: 5 [[prolactinoma]]s and 1 [[pituitary somatotroph adenoma]]. Twenty-one (28.8 %) patients underwent surgery and there was no malignancy. In concordance with available literature, [[adenoma]]s are the most frequent incidentally found pituitary lesions. Hormonal dysfunction is quite prevalent, including symptomatic presentations, which suggests that there seems to be a low sensitivity for the diagnosis of pituitary disease ((Esteves C, Neves C, Augusto L, Menezes J, Pereira J, Bernardes I, Fonseca J, Carvalho D. Pituitary incidentalomas: analysis of a neuroradiological cohort. Pituitary. 2015 Mar 24. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25800168. )). ====Case reports==== ===2016=== A 41-year-old Thai woman presented with elevated serum thyroid hormone levels and non-suppressed thyrotropin (TSH). Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 4 mm × 2 mm pituitary neuroendocrine tumor. Five of her relatives had similar thyroid tests abnormalities, but a sister had Graves' disease. Thyroperoxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies were positive in all affected family members, except for the proband's 4.5-year-old niece. Lack of thyrotoxic symptoms and TSH suppression by [[triiodothyronine]] indicated incidentaloma rather than a TSH-secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumor. Genetic analysis revealed a THRB gene mutation (c.1037G>T), resulting in p.G251V ((Sriphrapradang C, Srichomkwun P, Refetoff S, Mamanasiri S. A Novel Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta Gene Mutation (G251V) in a Thai Patient with Resistance to Thyroid Hormone Coexisting with Pituitary Incidentaloma. Thyroid. 2016 Oct 31. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27758132. )). ===2015=== A 54-year-old woman, presenting with upper and lower extremity paresthesia, salt cravings, episodes of hypotension, fatigue and a long term history of depression. Physical exam was unremarkable. Cervical and brain MRI ordered by her neurologist three years ago revealed sella and pituitary normal in size, stable very small 3 mm pituitary incidentaloma and mild disc bulging. Basal pituitary hormonal screening showed low cortisol and ACTH levels. Insulin Tolerance Test and Glucagon Stimulation Test confirmed secondary ACTH deficiency with concomitant GH deficiency. In spite of medical counseling the patient refused glucocorticoid replacement. Due to the non-specific symptoms of this condition it remains a challenge to be diagnosed by clinicians. In conclusion: The case shows that hormonal deficiencies may occur in small tumors less than 6 mm ((Martínez-Méndez JH, Gutiérrez-Acevedo M, Palermo-Garofalo C, Miranda-Adorno Mde L, Mangual-García M, Sánchez-Cruz A, Rivera-Anaya C, Mansilla-Letelier P, Laboy-Ortiz I. Do We Need Hormonal Screening In Patients With Subcentimeter Pituitary Microadenomas? Bol Asoc Med P R. 2015 Apr-Jun;107(2):89-91. PubMed PMID: 26434093. )). ====Books==== [[http://astore.amazon.com/neurocirugiacom/detail/331929041X|MRI of the Pituitary Gland By Jean-François Bonneville, Fabrice Bonneville, Françoise Cattin, Sonia Nagi]] This clinically oriented book will familiarize the reader with all aspects of the diagnosis of tumors and other disorders of the pituitary gland by means of [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI). The coverage includes [[acromegaly]], [[Cushing’s disease]], [[Rathke cleft cyst]]s, [[prolactinoma]]s, [[incidentaloma]]s, [[Clinically nonfunctioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumor]]s, other lesions of the [[sellar region]], [[hypophysitis]], and central [[diabetes insipidus]]. Normal radiologic anatomy and the numerous normal variants are described, and guidance is also provided on difficulties, artifacts, and other pitfalls. The book combines concise text and high-quality images with a question and answer format geared toward the needs of the practitioner. MRI is today considered the cornerstone in the diagnosis of diseases of the hypophyseal-hypothalamic region but the relatively small size of the pituitary gland, its deep location, the many normal anatomic variants, and the often tiny size of lesions can hinder precise evaluation of the anatomic structures and particularly the pituitary gland itself. Radiologists and endocrinologists will find MRI of the Pituitary Gland to be full of helpful information on this essential examination, and the book will also be of interest to internists and neurosurgeons.