What's wrong with adenoma

In daily life, adenoma can occur in many parts of the body, such as the breast, thyroid gland, and ovary. However, most adenoma is a common benign tumor. Although it is a benign tumor, many people are often worried and afraid after hearing about the tumor in the body, fearing that it will affect their life safety. Moreover, many people do not know much about adenoma. What is adenoma?

What is a gland tumor?

Brain adenoma, also known as pituitary adenoma, is a benign adenoma and the most common tumor in the sellar region. There is about 1 case in 100,000 people. There has been an increasing trend in recent years, especially in women of childbearing age. The Beijing Neurosurgery Institute reported that pituitary tumors account for 12.2% of intracranial tumors.

Pituitary tumors not only cause intracranial space-occupying signs, but also produce symptoms of endocrine disorders, such as infertility, sexual dysfunction, facial and limb changes, etc. In severe cases, it destroys the stability of the human body's internal environment and even affects the external image of a social person. From this point of view, pituitary adenoma is more harmful to the physical and mental health of the human body than other intracranial tumors.

Growth hormone cell adenoma: The early tumor is only a few millimeters in size and its main symptom is excessive secretion of growth hormone. Minor patients may grow rapidly and even develop into giants. In adulthood, it manifests as acromegaly. For example, the face changes, the forehead becomes larger, the lower jaw protrudes, the nose becomes larger and the lips become thicker, the fingers become thicker, and the shoes and hats feel tight. The patients have to change to larger sizes several times, and some even have to have them specially made. Some patients also have increased appetite, rough hair and skin, pigmentation, numbness of fingers, etc. In severe cases, patients may feel general fatigue, headache, joint pain, sexual dysfunction, amenorrhea and infertility, and even develop diabetes.

Clinical manifestations

The pituitary gland is an important endocrine organ that contains several types of endocrine cells and secretes a variety of endocrine hormones. If an adenoma grows in one of the endocrine cells, special clinical manifestations may occur.

Visual field impairment

Early pituitary adenomas often do not cause visual disturbances. If the tumor grows larger, extends upward, and compresses the optic chiasm, visual field defects will occur. The upper outer quadrant will be affected first, and the red field of vision will be manifested first. As the lesion grows larger and the pressure becomes more severe, the white field of vision is also affected, and the defect can gradually expand to bilateral temporal hemianopsia. If not treated promptly, the visual field defect may expand and vision may deteriorate, leading to total blindness. Because pituitary tumors are mostly benign, the initial lesions may persist for a considerable period of time. When the condition becomes serious, visual field impairment may suddenly worsen. If the tumor is on one side, it may cause monocular hemianopsia or blindness.

Other neurological symptoms and signs

If the pituitary tumor grows posteriorly and upwards and compresses the pituitary stalk or hypothalamus, it may cause polydipsia and polyuria; if the tumor grows laterally and invades the cavernous sinus wall, paralysis of the oculomotor nerve or abducens nerve may occur; if the tumor passes through the septum sellae and then grows upwards to the ventral part of the frontal lobe, psychiatric symptoms may sometimes occur; if the tumor grows posteriorly and upwards and blocks the anterior part of the third ventricle and the interventricular foramen, symptoms of increased intracranial pressure such as headache and vomiting may occur; if the tumor grows posteriorly, it may compress the brainstem and cause coma, paralysis, or decerebrate rigidity.