Invasive, atypical and aggressive pituitary adenomas and carcinomas

Abstract

Aggressive pituitary adenomas have a high risk of recurrence, a lack of therapeutic response, and resistance to conventional treatment. So far, no satisfactory biomarkers are available for predicting their behavior. Some specific pituitary adenoma histotypes are more prone to follow an aggressive behavior. Pituitary carcinomas are rare and show cerebrospinal and/or systemic metastasis. They have worse prognosis than aggressive adenomas, and radiation is of limited use in their treatment.

Keywords: Aggressive pituitary adenoma; Atypical adenoma; Diagnosis; Invasive adenoma; Noninvasive adenoma; Pituitary carcinoma.