PITUITARY TUMORS IN PATIENTS WITH CUSHING'S SYNDROME*

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Tumors of the pituitary of sufficient size to enlarge the sella and, in some instances, to produce ocular symptoms were present either before or after adrenal resection in 12 of 122 patients studied at the Mayo Clinic who had Cushing's syndrome associated with adrenocortical hyperplasia. As a group, these 12 patients presented a high incidence of cutaneous pigmentation and unusual ophthalmologic difficulties. Seven of the tumors were examined histologically; all were composed predominantly of chromophobe cells. One tumor was malignant, with extracranial metastatic lesions, but the other 6 showed no convincing histologic evidence of malignancy. Such tumors were not observed in a group of 34 patients who had Cushing's syndrome associated with adrenocortical tumor. The clinical course of all of 5 patients treated by total adrenalectomy and of 3 of 5 patients treated by subtotal adrenalectomy suggested that adrenal resection not only did not favorably influence the pituitary tumors but actually may have stimulated their growth. The role of such tumors in the production of Cushing's syndrome remains uncertain.