Is the incidence of pituitary tumors high?

In recent years, with the development of society and environmental pollution, people's physical health has been seriously affected, and the incidence of various brain diseases has increased year by year. Pituitary tumor is one of the more common brain tumor diseases. For us healthy people, having a healthy body is our greatest wish. So let's find out whether the incidence of pituitary tumor is high, so that everyone can understand and treat it in time.

If you randomly pick 100 young people on the street to do CT or MRI, 10 of them have imaging problems with their pituitary glands, pituitary tumors, and the incidence rate is over 10%. More than 97% of patients with pituitary tumors do not need treatment, and regular observation is sufficient; the remaining 3% of patients who need treatment, as long as they receive standardized evaluation and treatment, more than 95% of them can restore their endocrine function to normal, and the tumor will disappear or be reduced to a safe size. Therefore, pituitary tumors are not uncommon.

According to experts, most patients with pituitary tumors can achieve good results through standardized treatment, which is in stark contrast to the excessive concerns of many ordinary people about pituitary tumors. It seems that the deeper our understanding of pituitary tumors, the more calm we will be. Next, let's get to know the pituitary tumors that are common around us.

Let's talk about the pituitary gland first. The pituitary gland is located below the brain. It is as big as a pea and shaped like a pea. It is the most important endocrine gland in the human body and is divided into two parts: the anterior lobe and the posterior lobe. It secretes a variety of hormones, such as growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, gonadotropin, oxytocin, prolactin, melanocyte stimulating hormone, etc. It can also store antidiuretic hormone secreted by the hypothalamus. These hormones play an important role in metabolism, growth, development and reproduction.

As for pituitary tumors, as the name implies, they are a group of tumors that originate from the anterior pituitary cells. They are mostly found between the ages of 20 and 40, and are slightly more common in women. Pituitary tumors can be divided into non-functional pituitary tumors and functional pituitary tumors. Non-functional pituitary adenomas account for 20-25%, and most of them do not require treatment. Functional pituitary tumors can be further divided into PRL tumors (i.e. prolactinomas), GH tumors, ACTH tumors, TSH tumors, LH/FSH tumors, mixed tumors, and unclassified adenomas because their tumor cells can secrete hormones. Among them, PRL tumors are the most common, accounting for about 40-45%, followed by GH tumors and ACTH tumors, while TSH tumors and LH/FSH tumors are less common. In general, pituitary tumors account for about 10% of intracranial tumors that require hospitalization for surgical treatment. Most pituitary tumors are benign adenomas, and very few are cancers.

If you have irregular menstruation, male impotence, or a sudden increase in shoe size, please consider the possibility of a pituitary tumor and have a pituitary function test. Headache, decreased vision, visual field loss, sudden obesity accompanied by high blood pressure, lethargy, young people being much taller than their parents, and wearing shoes that suddenly become larger are common symptoms, while amenorrhea, reduced or irregular menstruation, galactorrhea, and infertility that women often experience, and infertility and impotence that men often experience are also symptoms that are easy to ignore. All of the above are various symptoms caused by abnormal secretion of hormones such as prolactin, growth hormone, gonadotropin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone, and they require special attention. Don't hold the idea of ​​"treating the head for a headache and the foot for a foot pain" and only go around in gynecology, ophthalmology, and andrology. It is best to have a pituitary function test as soon as possible, including six pituitary hormones and five thyroid function tests.

To ensure the accuracy of the pituitary function test data, it is recommended to avoid sexual intercourse the day before the test, eat breakfast on an empty stomach, and sit quietly in the hospital for half an hour before blood draw. Such results are more conducive to the doctor's diagnosis. In addition, it is not the end of the story after the test. The diagnosis results are best analyzed by neurosurgeons and endocrinologists in regular hospitals. Some high values ​​are not caused by pituitary tumors. Only after a comprehensive evaluation by a specialist can a pituitary MR examination be performed, and then further treatment plans can be selected based on the nature and size of the pituitary tumor.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone: although pituitary tumors are common, they are not scary as long as they are treated in a standardized manner.