• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.295-302
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• 2013

Some of the pituitary adenomas are invasive and spread into neighboring tissues. In previous studies, the invasion of pituitary adenomas is thought to be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In addition to that, we thought that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exist in relevant microenvironment in pituitary adenoma. However, it has been little known about the existence of MSCs from pituitary adenoma. So we investigated whether mesenchymal stem-like cells (MSLCs) can be isolated from the pituitary adenoma specimen. We isolated and cultured candidate MSLCs from the fresh pituitary adenoma specimen with the same protocols used in culturing bone marrow derived MSCs (BM-MSCs). The cultured candidate MSLCs were analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for surface markers associated with MSCs. Candidate MSLCs were exposed to mesenchymal differentiation conditions to determine the mesenchymal differentiation potential of these cells. To evaluate the tumorigenesis of candidate MSLCs from pituitary adenoma, we implanted these cells into the brain of athymic nude mice. We isolated cells resembling BM-MSCs named pituitary adenoma stroma mesenchymal stem-like cells (PAS-MSLCs). PAS-MSLCs were spindle shaped and had adherent characteristics. FACS analysis identified that the PAS-MSLCs had a bit similar surface markers to BM-MSCs. Isolated cells expressed surface antigen, positive for CD105, CD75, and negative for CD45, NG2, and CD90. We found that these cells were capable of differentiation into adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes. Tumor was not developed in the nude mice brains that were implanted with the PAS-MSLCs. In this study, we showed that MSLCs can be isolated from a pituitary adenoma specimen which is not tumorigenic.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.591-597
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• 2022

Objective : Pituitary adenomas frequently extend into the suprasellar space. After a suprasellar tumor is removed, the superiorly extended arachnoid becomes redundant and sinks down into the intrasellar space which often hiders visualization and accessibility to the hidden space behind the evaginated arachnoid. We introduced arachnoid remodeling by clipping technique, and evaluated its usefulness and safety during TSS. Methods : Total 223 patients who underwent arachnoid remodeling with our new clipping technique were included. Redundant arachnoid was clipped along the dural edge with multiple 2.6-mm titanium clips until the redundant arachnoid membrane no longer blocked the surgical route. To check for possible deterioration of hormonal function by this technique, we assessed anterior pituitary function of 166 patients who underwent arachnoid remodeling by clipping and compared this with those of other 429 control patients. Results : Our technique greatly enhanced the accessibility and visualization of intrasellar and parasellar spaces, both of which are generally hindered by redundant arachnoid during transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). We found no difference in anterior pituitary function between a clip-assisted arachnoid remodeling group and the control group, implying that this technique does not result in hypopituitarism. Conclusion : During TSS for pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension, arachnoid remodeling by clipping technique is very useful and convenient for the management of the redundant arachnoid membrane to enhance visualization and surgical accessibility.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.156-163
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• 2011

Purpose: To evaluate long-term local control rate and toxicity in patients treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for pituitary adenomas. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 60 patients treated with EBRT for pituitary adenoma at Korea University Medical Center from 1996 and 2006. Thirty-five patients had hormone secreting tumors, 25 patients had non-secreting tumors. Fifty-seven patients had received postoperative radiotherapy (RT), and 3 had received RT alone. Median total dose was 54 Gy (range, 36 to 61.2 Gy). The definition of tumor progression were as follows: evidence of tumor progression on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, worsening of clinical sign requiring additional operation or others, rising serum hormone level against a previously stable or falling value, and failure of controlling serum hormone level so that the hormone level had been far from optimal range until last follow-up. Age, sex, hormone secretion, tumor extension, tumor size, and radiation dose were analyzed for prognostic significance in tumor control. Results: Median follow-up was 5.7 years (range, 2 to 14.4 years). The 10-year actuarial local control rates for non-secreting and secreting adenomas were 96% and 66%, respectively. In univariate analysis, hormone secretion was significant prognostic factor (p = 0.042) and cavernous sinus extension was marginally significant factor (p = 0.054) for adverse local control. All other factors were not significant. In multivariate analysis, hormone secretion and gender were significant. Fifty-three patients had mass-effect symptoms (headache, dizziness, visual disturbance, hypopituitarism, loss of consciousness, and cranial nerve palsy). A total of 17 of 23 patients with headache and 27 of 34 patients with visual impairment were improved. Twenty-seven patients experienced symptoms of endocrine hypersecretion (galactorrhea, amenorrhea, irregular menstruation, decreased libido, gynecomastia, acromegaly, and Cushing's disease). Amenorrhea was abated in 7 of 10 patients, galactorrhea in 8 of 8 patients, acromegaly in 7 of 11 patients, Cushing's disease in 4 of 4 patients. Long-term complication was observed in 4 patients; 3 patients with cerebrovascular accident, 1 patient developed dementia. Of these patients, 3 of 4 received more than 60 Gy of irradiation. Conclusion: EBRT is highly effective in preventing recurrence and reducing mass effect of non-secreting adenoma. Effort to improve tumor control of secreting adenoma is required. Careful long-term follow-up is required when relatively high dose is applied. Modern radiosurgery or proton RT may be options to decrease late complications.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.450-455
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• 2005

Objective : Pituitary apoplexy is a rare clinical syndrome caused by pituitary hemorrhage, hemorrhagic infarction, or ischemic infarction within a pituitary tumor or surrounding structure. We analyzed surgical outcomes of pituitary apoplexy. Methods : From 1995 to 2004, we reviewed our experience of 29 cases with pituitary apoplexy. In all patients, pre- and postoperative clinical presentation were checked and endocrine study were performed. Results : The most frequent symptoms were visual disturbance [24 cases, 82.8%] and headache [22 cases, 75.9%]. After surgery, headache improved in 86.4%, 88.9% among 18cases who had preoperative reduction in visual acuity and 75.0% among 12 cases who had preoperative reduction in visual field improved. In endocrine study, long-term steroid and thyroid hormone replacement therapy was necessary in 42.9% of 14 cases presenting preoperative hypopituitarism. Postoperative transient hypopituitarism developed in 5 cases [33.3%] and they all recovered in follow up study. Postoperative endocrinological recovery were in 77.9% of 9 cases with preoperative prolactinoma, 1 case in 2 cases with acromegaly and one case with Cushing disease. Postoperative complications were diabetes inspidus[DI] in 1 case [3.4%]. cerebrospinal fluid[CSF] leakage in 2 cases [6.8%] and death in 1 case [3.4%] due to sepsis, Conclusion : We report good results through surgery of pituitary apoplexy in a clinical and endocrine outcomes. The surgery should be performed as soon as possible to be a suitable method for treating pituitary apoplexy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.336-344
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• 2000

Objective : The treatment for prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma(prolactinoma) include pharmacology, surgery, radiation therapy or radiosurgery. The recent development of radiological imaging and microsurgery has made transsphenoidal microsurgery the treatment of choice for most prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma. Despite its low morbidity and mortality, relatively high recurrence and failure rate have been reported. Recent advances in neuroimaging provide a precise targeting in radiosurgery for treatment of prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma. In this regard, Gamma knife radiosurgery has been proposed as an alternative primary treatment modality or adjuvant therapy. Patients and Methods : Twenty three patients with prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma have been treated with Gamma knife radiosurgery in our institute from March 1992 to September 1998. We analyzed clinical, radiological and endocrinological changes in 21 patients who were followed up for an average of 35.7 months. Results : The mean age was 34.9 years and 16 patients were treated with Gamma knife radiosurgery as primary treatment and 5 patients underwent Gamma knife radiosurgery for residual tumors after microsurgery. The margin of the tumor was incorporated within the 40 to 80% and the mean marginal dose was 24.5 Gy. Clinical improvement in the last follow-up were present in 17 cases(81.0%) and 3 of 5 infertility patients became pregnant after Gamma knife radiosurgery. Tumor control rate after Gamma knife radiosurgery was 100%. Endocrinological normalization in the last follow-up were obtained in 12 cases(57.1%). In three cases, hormonal normalizations were present in early period(3-32 months) but serum hormone levels were elevated subsequently. Conclusion : We conclude that the Gamma knife radiosurgery for prolactin secreting pituitary adenoma seems to be safe and effective as adjuvant therapy after microsurgery and primary treatment modality in selective patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.185-188
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• 1989

Radiation treatment results were analyzed in a retrospective analysis of 47 patients with pituitary adenoma treated with radiation alone or combined with surgery from 1974 through 1987 at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology of Kyung Hee University. The 5-year overall survival rates for all patients was $80.4\%$ Radiation therapy was effective for improving visual symptoms and headache, but could not normalize amenorrhea and galactorrhea. There was no difference of survival rate between radiation alone and combination with surgery. Prognostic factors such as age, sex, disease type, visual field, headache and surgical treatment were statistically no significant in survival rates of these patients.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.754-762
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• 2000

Objectives : The surgical results of 80 patients with growth hormone(GH)-producing pituitary adenoma were analyzed retrospectively to evaluate the clinical manifestations and to determine which preoperative factors significantly influenced the surgical outcome. Patients and Methods : The patients consisted of 39 men and 41 women and the age of patients at the time of initial operation ranged from 17 to 67 years(mean age, 40.5 years) Between January 1990 and June 1996, 77 patients underwent transsphenoidal surgery and 3 patients underwent craniotomy for GH-producing pituitary adenoma at our institution. Preoperative administration of octreotide was performed in 18 patients. Surgical control was defined as a postoperative serum basal level of GH less than 5ng/ml. A logistic regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analysis. Probability value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results : The most common presenting symptom was acromegaly, followed by headache, visual disturbance, and fatigability. Visual symptoms were present in 39% of the patients. Diabetes mellitus was associated in 24 patients and hypertension in 12. Preoperative mean basal level of GH was 93.2ng/ml(range 72-500ng/ml) which was closely related with tumor size(p<0.05). Grade II by Hardy's classification was the most common radiological type. Preoperative octreotide treatment significantly reduced the level of GH(p<0.05), but not enough to induce endocrinological remission. One patient died of cerebral infarction after craniotomy. The most common surgical complication was transient diabetes insipidus. The symptom of the earliest improvement after surgery was paresthesia and tightness of the hand and foot, followed by headache and easy fatigability. The preoperative visual symptom was improved in all patients. The patients who had hypertension or DM experienced alleviated symptoms in 67% and 92%, respectively. The overall rate of endocrinological remission was 44%. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, the size of tumor, extrasellar extension, and extent of removal were significant prognostic factors for endocrinologial remission. Conclusion : Early detection of a small tumor without extrasellar extension followed by a complete resection is highly recommended in order to achieve endocrinological cure of GH-producing pituitary adenomas.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3083-3088
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• 2012

We investigated the prognostic value of pituitary tumor transforming gene 1 (PTTG1) expression according to clinicopathological features among localized or locally advanced prostate cancer cases receiving hormone therapy. A retrospective study involved 64 patients receiving combined androgen blockade treatment was performed. PTTG1 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining using initial needle biopsy specimens for diagnosis. Associations of PTTG1 with various clinicopathological features and disease-free survival were examined via uni- and multivariate analyses. No association between PTTG1 expression and clinical T stage, Gleason score, pretreatment PSA levels, risk groups was found (p =0.682, 0.184, 0.487, 0.571, respectively). Univariate analysis revealed that increased PTTG1 expression, T3 stage and high risk group were associated with increased risk of disease progression (p =0.000, 0.042, and 0.001), and high PSA level had a tendency to predict disease progression (p =0.056). Cox hazard ratio analysis showed that PTTG1 low expression (p =0.002), PTTG1 high expression (p =0.000) and high risk group (p =0.0147) were significantly related to decreased disease-free survival. In conclusion, PTTG1 expression determined by immunohistochemical staining in needle biopsy specimens for diagnosis is a negative prognostic factor for progression in localized or locally advanced prostate cancer receiving hormone therapy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.495-503
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• 2020

Objective : Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenoma (PA) is an extremely rare functioning form of PA that accounts for 0.7-2% of all such cases. The previously reported outcomes of the surgical removal of TSH-PA are poor. Owing to its extremely low incidence, most available reports on TSH-PA are case reports or small case series. Thus, we investigated the clinical and endocrinological outcomes of surgically treated TSH-PA through our institutional series. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed 14 consecutive cases of surgically treated TSH-PA, focusing on the clinical, radiological, surgical, and endocrinological data. Results : There were seven male (50%) and seven female (50%) patients. The mean age was 42.5 years (range, 19-63). The mean tumor size was 16.6 mm (range, 4-30). Optic chiasm compression was noted in six patients (42.9%), and no patient showed cavernous sinus invasion. Thirteen of 14 patients (92.8%) underwent transnasal transsphenoidal approach (TSA), and one patient underwent TSA followed by transcranial approach for residual tumor removal. Thirteen of 14 patients (92.8%) showed endocrinological remission; all patients who experienced remission showed subnormal levels of TSH (<0.4 μU/mL) on postoperative day 2. Recurrence occurred in two patients (14.2%). One patient underwent subsequent revision transnasal TSA for recurrent tumor removal, and the other patient underwent gamma knife radiosurgery for recurrence. Conclusion : Surgical treatment showed excellent surgical outcomes. The TSH level in the immediate postoperative period may be a predictor for endocrinological remission.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.91-93
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• 2010

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the most common parasitic infestation of the central nervous system. Most cases of NCC are to related and/or associated with inflammation within the cerebral parenchyma. A 71-year-old woman presented with a 4-year history of visual disturbance. This symptom had become aggravated 4 weeks earlier. Her visual acuity gradually decreased and superior hemianopsia was noted. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an enhanced and thickened pituitary stalk accompanying a suspicious mass. The provisional diagnoses were lymphoma, glioma, or other inflammatory conditions. Laboratory studies, including blood and hormonal studies, showed normal findings. Surgical resection was performed. In the pathological examination, degenerated parasitic wall structure was seen and its contents were composed of completely degenerated focal globular structures suggesting the scolex of cysticercus. We report an unusual case of NCC involving the pituitary stalk which was presented with a juxtasellar tumor. The possible underlying mechanisms are discussed with a review of pertinent literature.