Treatments for Pituitary Tumor

The treatment and cure for pituitary tumors depend upon the nature and kind of pituitary tumor found in a patient. Based on whether it is a non-hormone-producing tumor or a functioning one, producing copious amounts of hormones like growth hormone, prolactin and thyroid-stimulating hormone, the doctor might decide to first observe, then medicate, and in extreme cases even operate or suggest radiation therapy to cure the malady.

Before Treatment

• Majority of pituitary tumors are tiny and do not produce any hormones. Usually known to be harmless, these merely need to be monitored properly for a few months. If they do not produce hormones or grow in size, they are kept under regular observation before the medical practitioner decides upon a mode of treatment suitable for the cure.

Medications

• Pituitary tumors are treated only when they start producing hormones leading to related symptoms. Doctors usually prescribe medication to stop production of hormones, which sometimes make them smaller in size as well, for instance, bromocriptine and cabergoline are used to treat pituitary tumors producing prolactin. Sometimes such medicines are effective enough to avert surgery. Two kinds of medicines--somatostatin to reduce hormone production and size, and pegvisomant to jam extra hormone effects on body--are used to cure growth hormone-producing tumors after unsuccessful surgery.

Operations

• When medication fails to reduce tumor symptoms, the doctor recommends surgery or transphenoidal endoscopy to remove the tumor through the cavity of the nose utilizing a microscope and endoscope. This leaves no visible incision mark, hardly any nerve complications, and the rest of the brain remains untouched.

Other Procedures

• In case of unsuccessful surgery or relapse of tumor after surgery or presence of symptoms that have been ineffectively treated with medicines, high-energy radiation may be advised for pituitary tumor removal. Beneficial for removal of tumors that are seated deep in the brain or in sensitive areas operating on which would be hazardous, stereotactic radiosurgery uses high doses of radiation on the tumor without any incision or anesthesia. For removal of bulky and slightly complex tumors, fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy might be the doctor's choice. This procedure involves targeting radiation to tumor growth regions spread over a period of time, with the patient exposed to a little radiation during every visit. This is especially useful to avert harm or injury to delicate eye and brain tissues and nerves that have to be carefully kept away from exposure to any such radiation. In more extreme cases, where the tumor has grown further than the pituitary gland, chemotherapy might also be suggested to decrease hormone creation and side effects.