Atypical pituitary adenoma with malignant features

Pituitary carcinoma is characterized by the presence of systemic or central nervous system metastases rather than malignant histological features, making it an anomaly amongst carcinomas. In contrast, aggressive or atypical pituitary adenomas often have a relatively bland histological appearance des...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pituitary 2011-03, Vol.14 (1), p.92-97
Main Authors: Mamelak, Adam N, Carmichael, John D, Park, Patricia, Bannykh, Sergei, Fan, Xuemo, Bonert, H. Vivien
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adenoma
Aged
carcinoma
Case Report
Endocrinology
Gonadotroph
Gonadotrophs - pathology
Human Physiology
Humans
Male
Malignancy
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Pituitary
Pituitary Neoplasms - diagnosis
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Summary:Pituitary carcinoma is characterized by the presence of systemic or central nervous system metastases rather than malignant histological features, making it an anomaly amongst carcinomas. In contrast, aggressive or atypical pituitary adenomas often have a relatively bland histological appearance despite their malignant growth patterns. We now report a case of a 67-years-old male with a giant pituitary tumor with overt pathologic and phenotypic features of malignancy, but the absence of metastases, that evolved from a benign non-functioning gonadotroph macroadenoma treated 10 years earlier. This case represents the first report of a pituitary adenoma with overt malignant histology that does not meet criteria for classification as pituitary carcinoma, helping to complete the pathological spectrum of disease observed with pituitary tumors.
ISSN:1386-341X
1573-7403
DOI:10.1007/s11102-008-0151-1