Giant pituitary adenomas: prevalence, features of diagnosis clinical course

Abstract

Based on the review of the literature, it is established that in the diagnostic complex with giant pituitary ade­nomas, in addition to clinical examination, it is necessary to use a full range of neuroimaging methods with determination of the chiasm location, the degree of tumor spread to the base of the skull and destruction of the latter. Surgical treatment is the method of choice when establishing the diagnosis of the giant pituitary adenoma, except for isolated cases of growth hormone and prolactin secreting tumors, in which treatment with dopamine agonists is possible. In this case, giant pituitary adenomas (diameter more than 4 cm) are still a problem, and there is no agreement on the optimal surgical strategy.

Keywords

• giant pituitary adenomas
• diagnosis
• treatment