202 The Role of Surgical Management for Prolactinoma in the Era of Dopaminergic Agonists: An International Multicenter Report

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Although first-line prolactinoma (PL) management typically involves dopamine agonists (DAs), the role of surgery as a primary therapeutic is being reconsidered given the undesirable side effects of long-term DAs. METHODS: Patients surgically treated for PL from January 2017 through December 2020 were identified. Preoperative characteristics and postoperative outcomes were assessed. Multivariate models adjusting for tumor characteristics and surgery complexity identified factors predictive of complications and long-term adverse outcomes. RESULTS: Among 272 patients identified (65.1% female), the mean age was 38.0 ± 14.3 years. Overall, 54.4% of PLs were macroadenomas. Most PLs were managed microscopically (69.9%) and fewer endoscopically (29.0%). Although 29.8% of patients experienced at least one early postoperative complication, most were minor (39.3%), with less being major complications (4.4%). The most common major complications were epistaxis and worsened vision. Most minor complications involved electrolyte/sodium dysregulation. Based on available data on follow-up, disease remission on long-term follow-up imaging was achieved in 94.8% of cases, and residual/recurrent tumor was seen in 19.3%. Reoperations were required for 2.9% of cases. Upon multivariate analysis, previous surgery was significantly predictive of intraoperative complications (6.14 OR, p < 0.01) and major complications (14.12 OR, p < 0.01). Previous pharmacotherapy (0.27 OR, p = 0.02) and cavernous sinus invasion (0.19 OR, p = 0.03) were significantly prohibitive against long-term endocrinological cure. Knosp classification was highly predictive of residual tumor or PL recurrence on 6-month follow-up imaging (4.60 OR, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results evaluate a modern, multicenter, global series of patients treated for PL. This data serves as a benchmark to compare with DAs and demonstrates that surgery offers high rates of remission with low rates of complications and recurrence. It may be reasonable to consider surgery as an alternative to DAs.