Knowledge Is Power to Heal
When you or a loved one is diagnosed with a pituitary tumor, there’s a lot to learn about diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Feel confident in your care decisions knowing that our highly skilled and compassionate team will be with you for every step of your journey.
You deserve care that empowers you to learn, heal and thrive. That’s why our team at the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute will make sure you understand all there is to know about your pituitary tumor diagnosis, from how it impacts your overall health to the best possible options for treatment plans.
Pituitary Tumor Types to Know
Your pituitary gland is located at the base of your brain. It helps control your other endocrine glands, such as the adrenal glands, thyroid, ovaries and testes.
Pituitary tumors — also sometimes called adenomas — are usually benign (non-cancerous) and don’t spread beyond the pituitary gland. But they can still impact the function of your pituitary gland and, therefore, the other parts of your endocrine system.
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone-Secreting (ACTH) Tumors
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Adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting (ACTH) tumors cause Cushing’s disease. If you have Cushing’s disease, you may experience these symptoms:
- Acne
- Anxiety
- Bruising
- Depression
- Facial roundness
- Fat around the stomach or back
- High blood pressure
- High blood sugar
- Irritability
- Stretch marks
- Thinning arms or legs
- Weak bones
- Growth Hormone-Secreting Tumors
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Pituitary tumors that produce excessive amounts of the growth hormone acromegaly have unique symptoms like:
- Body hair growth
- Coarse facial features
- Enlarged hands and feet
- Excessive sweating
- Heart problems
- High blood pressure
- Joint pain
- Misaligned teeth
- Large Pituitary Tumors
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Also called macroadenomas, large pituitary tumors put pressure on the pituitary gland and other structures. This causes symptoms including headaches and vision loss. It can also cause hormonal deficiencies, which may come with these pituitary tumor symptoms:
- Feeling cold
- Frequent urination
- Infrequent, or stopped, menstrual periods
- Nausea
- Sexual dysfunction
- Unintended weight loss or gain
- Vomiting
- Weakness
- Prolactin-Secreting Hormones
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A prolactinoma tumor causes an overproduction of the hormone prolactin while causing estrogen levels to decrease in women and testosterone levels to decrease in men.
For women, a prolactinoma may cause:
- Discharge from the breast
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Lack of periods
Men with prolactinoma have different symptoms, such as:
- Breast growth
- Erectile dysfunction
- Loss of sex drive
- Lowered sperm count
- Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone-Secreting Tumors
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A pituitary tumor can cause the thyroid to produce too much of the hormone thyroxine. This increases your body’s metabolism and causes symptoms like:
- Excessive sweating
- Frequent bowel movements
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Weight loss
- Rathke’s Cleft Cyst
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Rathke’s cleft cyst is a rare, benign cyst in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. This fluid-filled cyst grows from a piece of the Rathke’s pouch, which is located behind the roof of the mouth.
The cyst usually appears during early fetal development. It rarely causes symptoms during childhood and is most often discovered in adulthood during unrelated diagnostic procedures.
Rathke’s cleft cyst symptoms may include:
- Fatigue or drowsiness
- Feelings of confusion
- Frequent headaches
- Nausea
If the tumor grows large enough, it may cause visual changes or interfere with the pituitary gland’s hormone production, causing symptoms at different life stages, like:
- Extreme thirst
- Irregular menstruation
- Late puberty
- Milk production unrelated to pregnancy or childbirth
Understanding the Causes of Pituitary Tumors
Unfortunately, why pituitary tumors develop isn’t clear. They aren’t caused by things like your family history or your weight. And because they don’t have environmental or lifestyle-related risk factors, there’s no known way to prevent them. Some pituitary tumors may be linked to both inherited and non-inherited genetic conditions.
Pituitary Tumor Risk Factors
Occasionally, pituitary tumors are the result of a genetic syndrome that causes abnormal growths. Some of these syndromes may include:
- Carney complex, a rare syndrome most often affecting the skin, heart and endocrine system
- McCune-Albright syndrome, which develops in the womb
- Multiple endocrine neoplasia, types I and IV, which increase the likelihood of tumors in glands like the pituitary gland
If you’re facing one of these genetic conditions, we’ll work hand-in-hand with you to make sure you understand your treatment options and feel confident in the choices you’re making.
Pituitary Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment
Depending on your symptoms and medical history, a neurologist may order several tests — including blood, urine, imaging and vision tests — to determine if you have a pituitary tumor.
Sometimes, pituitary tumors don’t need to be treated. Instead, your doctor will closely monitor you, checking to see if it is growing or affecting other parts of your brain. If you do need treatment, the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute offers many successful options to help you manage your condition and heal.
- Medication
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There are medications available to regulate hormone production, and some are even capable of shrinking the size of a tumor. Your doctor and care team will work closely with you to decide which medication is right for you and to monitor its effects on your tumor.
- Radiation
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Radiation therapy can be used to target and destroy tumor cells. There are multiple types of radiation, including:
- External radiation therapy
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
- Proton beam therapy
- Surgery
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If your tumor is pressing on your optic nerve and impacting your vision, your doctor may recommend either craniotomy or endovascular transsphenoidal surgery, depending on the location and size of your pituitary tumor.
Endovascular transsphenoidal surgery is basically surgery through the nose. Removing the tumor through your nasal cavity using this minimally invasive procedure allows your surgeons to either remove or reduce the size of the tumor so your pituitary gland can function normally again. Compared to open surgery, your recovery will also be faster since no incision will be made.
Expertise to Help You Heal
You aren’t alone in this diagnosis. We use our expertise to treat your physical needs and our compassion to give you healing support at every step. Here, you’ll always get answers to your questions and straightforward explanations about your treatment options. We want to see you get back to feeling healthy and whole, and we’re always here for you.