Pituitary tumor is a growth in the pituitary gland.
The pituitary gland, also called the pituitary gland, is our chief hormone gland and controls many hormones and functions of the body. It is located in a depression in the base of the skull called the "sella turcica" and consists of an anterior lobe, the adenohypophysis, and a posterior lobe, the neurohypophysis. The pituitary gland is connected via the pituitary stalk to the hypothalamus, which processes signals from the body and controls pituitary function. Together they form the central control of the hormone systems for reproduction, metabolism and growth. The optic nerves, cranial nerves and important blood vessels border the pituitary gland.
According to current findings, one in five people have a pituitary gland growth that deviates from the norm. However, this so-called pituitary adenoma usually does not require therapy. In one out of 600 cases, a particularly large adenoma (macroadenoma) exerts pressure on the optic nerves and pituitary gland, resulting in visual disturbances, hyperphysis hypofunction with increased risk of bleeding, or hyperfunction with serious hormonal consequences (prolactinoma, acromegaly, Cushing's disease). In an interdisciplinary consensus, a decision is then made on the further course of action, either with medication or surgery. In case of surgery, high-tech procedures such as intraoperative neuronavigation, neuroendoscopy in combination with high-resolution surgical microscopes and intraoperative imaging by means of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are available.
In more than 1500 operations, about 99% of visual problems and about 82% of hormonal problems could be corrected. In more than 80% of the cases the tumor could be removed completely. The recurrence rate, i.e. new tumor growth, is about 6% within 8 years. The complication rate is about 2% and the mortality rate is about 0.2%.
Other pathological changes inside or above the sella turcica (e.g. Rathke's pouch cysts, craniopharyngeomas, meningiomas or the rarer chordomas, metastases, lymphomas and glioblastomas) also cause similar symptoms to a pituitary adenoma. They can be treated with the same surgical procedures.
