What should be checked for pituitary tumors

Pituitary tumor is one of the common diseases in oncology. Its onset will first manifest in abnormal hormone secretion in the body. Some people also show obesity, which affects growth and development. Therefore, this disease must be treated actively. The examination and diagnosis before treatment is also very important and has important value. So, what should be checked for pituitary tumor?

Common examination methods for pituitary tumors:

X-ray examination is one of the important methods for diagnosing pituitary tumors, including skull plain film, sella turcica stratification, cerebral angiography, electronic computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

1. Skull plain film and layered radiography

Pituitary tumors grow within the sella turcica. In the early stage, if the tumor is small, it does not affect the sella turcica. After that, the tumor continues to grow, causing mild localized bone changes. On thin-layer slices, a small section of the bone wall of the sella turcica can be found to be slightly bulging, absorbed or destroyed. Subsequently, it presents a typical space-occupying change within the sella turcica. The anterior-posterior diameter, deep diameter, wide diameter and volume of the sella turcica exceed normal, and the sella turcica enlarges to become cup-shaped, spherical or flat. If it grows to the side of the sella turcica, it presents a parasellar space-occupying change, and the sella turcica bottom presents a double contour. Huge tumors can destroy the sella turcica dorsum and the sella turcica bottom. Pituitary tumors have pathological calcification spots in approximately 1.2% to 6.0%.

2. Magnetic resonance imaging

The normal pituitary tissue disappeared, replaced by a soft tissue mass about 23 cm in size. The sella diaphragm was bulging, the optic chiasm was compressed, the sella turcica floor was sunken, and one side of the cavernous sinus was invaded.

3. CT Scan

What are the common examination methods for pituitary tumors? Diagnosis of pituitary tumors has certain value, but also certain limitations. The density of pituitary tumor masses is slightly higher than that of brain matter, and the surrounding brain pools and ventricles contain low-density cerebrospinal fluid, which can be found by CT scans. Intravenous infusion of iodine-containing contrast agents can enhance tumor density and further improve the detection rate of tumors. However, smaller pituitary tumors can be concealed by high-density bone near the pituitary gland and low-density sphenoid sinus air chambers.

After the experts explained a series of knowledge about the examination methods for pituitary tumors, we learned that plain head films and stratified radiographs are the most direct and clear examination methods, and can effectively determine the size of the tumor. When there are patients with this disease around us, we can also use magnetic resonance imaging.