Plurihormonal Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors: Clinical Relevance of Immunohistochemical Analysis

Plurihormonal pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) are rare forms of tumors that express more than one hormone. The most common association is between growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL), but other unusual combinations have been reported, such as GH and ACTH. Usually, the clinical dominance...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diagnostics (Basel) 2024-01, Vol.14 (2), p.170
Main Authors: Dumitriu-Stan, Roxana-Ioana, Burcea, Iulia-Florentina, Dobre, Ramona, Nastase, Valeria Nicoleta, Ceausu, Raluca Amalia, Raica, Marius, Poiana, Catalina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acromegaly
Cabergoline
Classification
Cushing’s disease
Development and progression
Health aspects
Histology
Hormones
Hospitals
Immunohistochemistry
Medical colleges
Microscopy
Morphology
Neuroendocrine tumors
Neurosurgery
Patients
Pituitary hormones
pituitary transcription factors
plurihormonal pituitary neuroendocrine tumors
Transcription factors
Tumors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Plurihormonal pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) are rare forms of tumors that express more than one hormone. The most common association is between growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL), but other unusual combinations have been reported, such as GH and ACTH. Usually, the clinical dominance in these cases is related to GH hypersecretion. In these cases, immunohistochemistry (IHC) of transcription factors (TFs) is very useful for an accurate diagnosis. We included 42 patients diagnosed with pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs): 37 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of acromegaly, and 5 patients with prolactinomas. All patients underwent transsphenoidal surgical intervention. We correlated the immunohistochemical features of plurihormonal PitNETs with clinical, hormonal, and imaging data. Tumor specimens were histologically and immunohistochemically examined. Based on the 2022 WHO classification, using IHC, 13 patients exhibited positive staining for more than one hormone, while unusual combinations like GH + ACTH and PRL + ACTH were also identified in other cases. Unusual cell combinations that produce hormones unrelated histogenetically, biochemically, or through regulatory mechanisms can appear and may display aggressive behavior, persistent disease, and high recurrence. We have not identified a clear correlation with the prognosis of these rare PitNETs.
ISSN:2075-4418
2075-4418
DOI:10.3390/diagnostics14020170