In most cases, pituitary tumors are treated by surgery, radiation therapy, or by using drugs that block the tumor's ability to produce hormones. Surgery: The goal of surgery is to remove the entire tumor from the pituitary gland. This is possible with most microadenomas but may be less likely with macroadenomas. Sometimes the entire pituitary gland will have to be removed. Medications can provide the hormones that the pituitary gland used to produce.

A pituitary tumor is a tumor that begins in the pituitary gland. Most pituitary tumors are not cancer. In fact, cancerous pituitary tumors are so rare that state and national cancer agencies keep no record of how many people get them each year. Benign (non-cancerous) pituitary tumors are also rare. About 3,000 people get them each year.

Pituitary tumors that affect hormones may cause a variety of symptoms, which are related to high hormone levels and production. These symptoms will be different in children than in adults. Growth hormone-secreting adenomas in children may cause: Other more rare kinds of pituitary tumors cause other symptoms. It is important for anyone who is experiencing any unusual symptoms to see their doctor.

The primary treatment for these tumors is surgery. It is important for the doctor to keep checking for cancer cells left behind. The surgery ends when all cancer cells have been removed. This is called perioperative microscopic examination of surgical margins. If the tumor is large, cryotherapy (freezing of the tumor) may be needed. Researchers are also studying the use of chemotherapy eye drops for people who have conjunctival melanoma (and have tumors in several places on the eye).

These are rare tumors. They can be either primary tumors of the iris (e.g. malignant melanoma) or spread from another tumor (e.g. breast, lung). Treatment of these tumors depends on whether the tumor is growing and also whether there is any complication from the tumor (e.g. uncontrolled glaucoma). In the case of glaucoma that does not get better with medication, or if the tumor is growing quickly, it may be necessary to remove the entire eye.

Melanomas. The treatment for choroidal melanomas can include thermal destruction (cryotherapy or photocoagulation), radiation, local resection or complete removal of the eye, or no treatment at all (observation alone). The choice depends on the size of the tumor, on whether or not it is growing, and whether or not the person is having symptoms. All these options should be discussed in depth with the doctor, weighing all the risks and benefits of each choice. Nevus.

Certain factors can make one person more likely to get a pituitary tumor than another person. These are called risk factors. In some cancers, doctors have identified risk factors that can be avoided, such as smoking or sun exposure. With pituitary tumors, doctors are not sure what exactly causes pituitary tumors and only one risk factor has been identified. Most people who get a pituitary tumor have no known risk factors.

Hi. I'm a nursing student and I recently had a male patient, 64 yrs. old, who is diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus type 1, obesity, hypertension, a right below-the-knee amputation due to osteomyelitis, depression, chronic renal insufficiency, and a few other things, including poor wound healing. He has the typical Cushing's body type and the buffalo hump. He has no striae on his abdomen.

The number of tumors that can be treated is evaluated on an individual basis. Each patient's diagnosis and case is different.

Pituitary Cyst : Any endocrine gland may develop a cyst. This occurs commonly in the ovaries and thyroid gland; a cyst in the pituitary gland is benign (not cancer). Many pituitary cysts cause no symptoms and don’t grow or enlarge. Only when they do, do they become symptomatic. They can cause headache and/or rarely interfere with normal pituitary function. If the cyst is large, loss of vision may occur.

Proper treatment depends upon the type and location of the specific tumor. Current treatments include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. All sinus tumor cases are reviewed at our Tumor Board, where individual cases are reviewed in detail and discussed by specialists from ear, nose, and throat surgery, plastic surgery, radiation oncology, hematology oncology, radiology, pathology, prosthetics/reconstruction, speech pathology, and oral surgery.

No, pituitary tumors are usually benign. They grow very slowly and do not spread to other parts of the body.

No, these tumors are caused by an abnormality in the genetic material of the pituitary cell, which causes the cells to continue growing and dividing.

Any medical therapy for a pituitary tumor should reduce hormone overproduction by the tumor, and, ideally, decrease the size of the pituitary tumor so that any visual abnormality is corrected. Reduction in tumor size should improve or relieve headache associated with the tumor.

Clinical trials for verifying the safety and efficacy of the MRgFUS technology (or ExAblate) are being conducted for, breast cancer, liver and bone tumors. For more information please check the InSightec website. ExAblate MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Treatment for uterine fibroids. © 2004-2008 All rights reserved.

Yes, and experience is accumulating in this area. Patient’s guardians should seek professional advice on specific cancers regarding DC therapy and carefully weigh their treatment options (See review)

This is because the amount of radiation required to kill a large tumor which fills most of the eye, is just too much for the eye to stand. Within months to years, many patients who are treated with radiation for very large ocular melanomas lose vision, develop glaucoma, or have their eye removed anyway. Despite these risks, many patients with large intraocular tumors can be treated with eye and vision-sparing radiation therapy.

The pituitary gland is a small gland located behind the nasal sinuses and above the roof of the mouth at the base of the skull. It is connected to the hypothalamus, a part of the brain. Together, the two control the production of many of the important hormones in the body. The pituitary gland sits in a tight bony space and has little room to grow or expand when swollen or if there is a tumor.

CDI itself does not interfere with menstruation or fertility. However, it may be associated with these or other problems if the disease or injury that caused the DI also damages adjacent parts of the brain or pituitary where other hormones are normally produced. Head trauma is one of the things that can cause this kind of collateral damage, but it does not always do so. Therefore, each patient with CDI must be evaluated separately to determine if any of the other hormones have been affected.