Pituitary tumor

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Pituitary tumor

Tumor - pituitary

Because the pituitary gland controls the production of hormones throughout the body, pituitary disorders resemble other endocrine disorders and have a broad range of symptoms. Symptoms depend on the type and location of the tumor and cause hormone excess, hormone deficiency, or pressure on the brain and central nervous system.

Some tumors cause excess hormone production while others cause a deficiency, so one type of tumor may produce symptoms that are very different from those produced by another type of growth (for example, one may cause hair growth while the other causes hair loss).

The same tumor may begin by causing the release of excess hormone and then later result in a deficiency of that hormone as normal pituitary cells are suppressed. This would cause early symptoms that appear to be the opposite of later symptoms.

Some of the many symptoms associated with pituitary tumors include the following:

• Headache
• Visual changes
  • Double vision
  • Drooping eyelids
• Personality changes
  • Decreased sexual interest
  • Irritability
• Seizures
• Nasal drainage
• Skin changes
  • Thickened skin
  • Enlarged sebaceous glands
• Facial changes
  • Moon face, puffy eyes
  • Enlarged jaw and facial bones
• Hair changes
  • Loss of body hair
  • Coarse, thin head hair
  • Thinning of eyebrows
• Weakness
• Lethargy
• Temperature sensitivity
  • Intolerance to cold
  • Intolerance to heat
• Constipation
• Nausea and vomiting
• Low blood pressure
• Impaired sense of smell
• Changes in weight
  • Weight loss (unintentional)
  • Weight gain (unintentional)

In women:

• Cessation of menses
• Abnormal nipple discharge
• Excessive body hair

In men:

• Breast development
• Impotence

Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and will note any double vision and visual field deficits, such as loss of peripheral vision or the ability to see in certain areas.

Tests that help confirm the diagnosis include the following:

• MRI of head
• Cranial CT scan
• Formal visual field testing

Endocrine function tests include the following:

• Cortisol levels:
  • Urine cortisol test
  • Dexamethasone suppression test - serum cortisol levels measured after giving dexamethasone to supress hormonal secretion
  • Saliva cortisol test
• Insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels
• Thyroid hormone levels:
  • TSH test
  • Free T4 test
• Serum prolactin levels
• Testosterone/estradiol levels
• Leutinizing hormone (LH) levels
• Follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) levels

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