Clinicopathological study of pituitary adenomas in the region of northeast India

Abstract EN

Background/aim Pituitary adenomas (PA) are the most common tumours of the pituitary gland.

Clinicopathological characteristics of these tumours may vary from population to population.

The present study aimed to understand the detailed clinical and pathological characteristics of surgically resected PA in the region of Northeast India.

Patients and methods Thirty-two consecutive cases of PA diagnosed and operated at Gauhati Medical College were studied for clinical, pathological, and treatment characteristics in this study between January 2014 and December 2015.

The patient group included 20 female and 12 male patients with a median age of 37 years (range: 22–58 years).

Results A total of 13/32 (40.63%) cases were nonfunctioning adenomas.

Among the hormonally active PA, prolactin-producing adenomas were most common (25%), followed by growth hormone-producing adenomas (18.8%) and adrenocorticotrophic hormone-producing adenomas (15.6%).

The most common symptom was headache, followed by visual disturbances, galactorrhoea, acromegaloid and cushingoid features.

Menstrual disturbances were present in 50% of the female patients.

23.1% of the cases of nonfunctioning PA were negative for all anterior pituitary hormones on immunohistochemistry.

Conclusion PA can have varied presentations.

Detailed clinical, hormonal and pathological evaluation is essential for better understanding the nature of the tumour growth and its progression.

This study is the first of its kind in the region of Northeast India, showing the relationship of the functioning and nonfunctioning PA with their hormonal profile and immunohistochemical analysis.